David West (far right) quietly watches Monday’s practice.
The injury bug continues to hit the Pacers. David West, the backbone of the team, will miss the final two preseason games this week and is hopeful to play in the home opener (Oct. 29) after sustaining a right ankle sprain in Saturday’s win over the Dallas Mavericks.
West, who observed Monday’s practice in sweats and with a boot on his right foot, will not join the team on their trip to Minnesota and Charlotte this week — instead staying back to rehab and trying to decrease the swelling.
David West getting around in a boot, and with the assistance of a crutch.
“I just sprained it really good. It’s a tough, tough sprain,” said West.
West did not say what Grade of sprain it was, but he did reveal that it was not a high-ankle sprain.
West, who sprained this same ankle last February, said that the injury occurred when he landed on it wrong after kicking his other leg out from under him.
“Anytime you feel (your ankle) tough the ground, you know it’s going to be tough to deal with,” he said. “Once I felt that, I knew I kind of dinged it up pretty good.”
The Pacers have two preseason games remaining, Tuesday in Minnesota and Thursday at Charlotte.
“I’ll be in here everyday getting treatment, and hopefully I respond well to that,” he said. “Just work on the swelling and go from there.”
It is his expectation that he’ll be ready for opening night, but it’ll be easier to tell by the end of the week.
[HD VIDEO: Paul George shooting]
With West out, veteran Luis Scola will take on a larger role.
“It’s a good opportunity for me to get a little rhythm, to get some extra minutes, and see if I can use it [efficiently],” Scola, who’s started in 412 of 550 (75 percent) regular-season games. “Of course we all want David to be back as soon as possible, the sooner the better, and hopefully that’ll be the case — that he’s back very soon.
“But while he’s out, I’ll try to play the best I can and see if we can play the same way, if we can win games, and if we can be competitive. We can’t use it as an excuse.”
Head coach Frank Vogel said he’ll treat these final two tune-up games mostly as if they are regular season games, getting quality looks at lineup combinations and trying to improve chemistry on the court.
His goals: “Get tied together defensively and achieve ball movement on the offensive end,” Vogel said.
Stuckey Out, Too
Pacers guard Rodney Stuckey has also been ruled out for their two games this week. He’s dealing with a sprained right foot, which he suffered in last week’s loss to Cleveland.
While the media was allowed in for the final 10 minutes or so of Monday’s practice, Stuckey was laying on his stomach on one of the baselines doing strength work.
With West and Stuckey sidelined like Paul George, the battered Pacers are having to play without three starters.
The Pacers have one of the best — if not the best — training staffs in the league. They’ll help shorten the recovery times, but this bug has been spreading fast.
Watson Continues Rehab
On more injury note: Reserve point guard C.J. Watson, who has missed three of the Pacers’ five exhibition contests, continues to rehab his sore right foot. He’s available and could play Tuesday if it was a regular-season game, but Vogel will hold him out.
Watch the video below that Watson posted of running on the team’s underwater treadmill.