OKC are beginning to find their stride and break away…
The New Orleans Pelicans will be without star forward Anthony Davis for up to two weeks after he aggravated a shoulder injury, can they cope without him?
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Davis suffered the issue during Saturday’s game against the Miami Heat and after undergoing an MRI scan he has been diagnosed with a sprained right shoulder which will force him to miss between one and two weeks of action.
In an additional blow, forward Ryan Anderson also picked up a sprained MCL in his right knee in the same game and he is expected to miss between two and four weeks.
All in all, it is a bitter blow for the Pelicans who had been on course to compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference this season.
The slow start made by the Oklahoma City Thunder due to injuries to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook allowed them to get a head-start in the race for the eighth and final spot, but changes in luck and form have conspired against them to ensure that their rivals now have the advantage.
OKC currently sit in the eighth spot with a 31-25 record, while New Orleans have now fallen into 10th place at 28-27, two-and-a-half games adrift of their rivals.
Davis will now miss a significant number of games in the coming fortnight, and so it remains to be seen whether or not his teammates can battle on without him and at the very least leave him with an opportunity to get them back in the mix when he returns.
However, with Russell Westbrook in such great form for the Thunder, the odds will be stacked against the Pelicans being able to chase them down as we enter the final stretch of the regular season.
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