HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

The Memphis Grizzlies’ triumphant return to postseason play may be on hold now as the team received the worst possible news regarding injured star Rudy Gay on Tuesday morning. The partially dislocated left shoulder that has sidelined him since February 15th is now going to require surgery, and Gay will miss the rest of the 2010-11 NBA season.

"I’ve never really been hurt. I’ve never had anything shut me down," Gay told the Memphis Commercial-Appeal. "There’s really no brace or anything I can wear to make it better. I have to have the surgery."

The news is heartbreaking for Gay, who wanted to have a banner year in celebration of his new contract with the Grizzlies. After putting in a full summer of workouts with renowned NBA trainer Joe Abunassar, Gay is averaging career-bests in assists (2.8), steals (1.69), blocks (1.1), field goal percentage (.471), three-point field goal percentage (.396), free throw percentage (.805) and minutes (39.9). He’s not one to sit out easily, and he was even considering returning rather than having surgery.

"Not being able to celebrate the success of the team on the court is hard," Gay said. "I was even thinking about going without the surgery and risk further injury to play. But I’ve been getting advised not to do it."

To their credit, the Grizzlies have been able to maintain their spot in the Western Conference playoff picture even without Gay in the mix. They’re currently 39-32, and clinging to the West’s eighth seed. They have a two-game lead on the hard-charging Houston Rockets, but have their work cut out for them holding onto their playoff spot without Gay. They have a tough stretch of games coming up, with Boston, Chicago and San Antonio in their immediate future. After that they only see two playoff teams the rest of the way, with two against the New Orleans Hornets and one against the Portland Trail Blazers. But with Houston nipping at their heels they almost have to get one of the next three to stay in the eighth seed.

So far, so good, though, for the Grizzlies. They’ve been getting it done behind All-Star play from Randolph and a consistent effort from a number of other players. They had seven players in double-figures in their win over Utah on Monday night and they have plenty of bodies to help fill the void left by Gay’s absence.

Getting Rudy back right now would have been a huge boost for the Grizzlies and would likely have propelled them to the playoffs. They can still make it, but it’s going to require a strong team effort to make up for all that Gay means to his franchise.

Up Close: David Lee

It’s been a tough season for the Golden State Warriors in many ways, but there have also been some positives. David Lee talks about his development and what he’s still working to improve, playing against all the great power forwards in the West, the change in Monta Ellis this season, and more in this exclusive interview:

For more exclusive interviews and content from HOOPSWORLD, be sure you "like" our page on FaceBook by linking here!

Blessing In Disguise?

For more than a decade Tim Duncan has been the driving force behind a team that is always in the mix when talking about NBA contenders. The San Antonio Spurs have had nice pieces around him throughout, but for the most part he has been the MVP candidate behind a perennial title hopeful. Before now, the news that Duncan would be spending the foreseeable future on the sidelines nursing an ankle sprain would have been positively devastating to the Spurs’ hopes of a strong finish to the season.

This year is different, however.

Sure, Duncan is still a force to be reckoned with in San Antonio, but he is not the only force . . .not by any stretch of the imagination. The Spurs have done a masterful job of preparing for the time when Duncan will hang up his adidas for the last time, surrounding him with a plethora of talent that has made him all but a bystander in a year that’s seen San Antonio atop the standings throughout. Through 69 games Duncan averaged just 28.3 minutes per contest, while DeJuan Blair, Matt Bonner, Antonio McDyess, Steve Novak and Tiago Splitter played plenty of minutes in support of their aging star. Last night he managed just four minutes before a severe ankle sprain put him on the pine for what head coach Gregg Popovich believes will be about two weeks.

{AUTHOR_BOX}It’s ironic that the injury came on the heels of a DNP-CD for Duncan, whom Popovich was looking to keep fresh for what is likely to be a long playoff run. Steve Novak did most of the damage for the Spurs in that game, scoring 19 points off the bench in increased minutes. Last night it was Splitter who stepped in when Duncan stepped out, garnering 10 points and 14 rebounds and three steals in 28 minutes. Novak was key, as well, scoring 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting in 18 minutes. Granted, the Charlotte Bobcats and Golden State Warriors are not playoff teams, but the fact that the Spurs were able to pick up two convincing wins with Duncan out of action is a sign of the times in San Antonio.

The Spurs have all but moved on. Manu Ginobili has been team’s MVP this season, averaging 18 points to lead the team in scoring. Tony Parker has been right behind him with 17.5 points and 6.6 assists per game, though more often than not, when the game is on the line, it’s Ginobili who makes the big play. Duncan is third in the team in scoring with 13.3 points per contest, but two more Spurs are right behind him. Richard Jefferson and George Hill have been solid, adding 22 points per contest between them, and with Duncan sidelined now we’ll get a chance to see what Splitter can do in the starting lineup.

That’s something Spurs fans have been dying to see anyway.

The good news for the Spurs is that Duncan is only expected to miss two weeks with the ankle injury, and knowing Popovich he’ll get all of that and then some. The key is for Duncan to be healthy for the playoffs, and that’s still a month away. In the mean time, Splitter will get to test his game against the likes of Kenyon Martin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Zach Randolph, Luis Scola, and Kevin Garnett. That experience could prove to be invaluable for Splitter, who is expected to be Duncan’s full-time replacement in the not-too-distant future. The Spurs also have some margin for error, having 12 games left on the season and a seven-game lead on the second-place Los Angeles Lakers.

Injuries are never good, but it’s entirely possible that the Spurs will rise up stronger than ever when Duncan returns, courtesy of increased playing time and valuable experience for Splitter. The more Duncan can sit, the longer San Antonio is likely to extend their season as the playoffs begin.

More Twitter:  HOOPSWORLD has launched a new Twitter module where we will be releasing more breaking news and insider-type information via Twitter. Make sure you are following all of our guys to insure you are getting the very latest from our team: @stevekylerNBA, @AlexKennedyNBA, @jfleminghoops, @TheRocketGuy, @EricPincus, @joelbrigham, @alexraskin82, @stephenlitel, @TommyBeer, @DPageHOOPSWORLD and @YannisHW.

NBA Chats: Senior NBA Writer Eric Pincus will hold his weekly NBA chat today at 4pm. Eric covers the NBA as a whole, but is based in LA with the Lakers and Clippers. Stephen Litel will dig out from the snow in Minnesota to hold his weekly NBA Chat at 8pm EST. You can always find the next chat here: Upcoming NBA Chats.