New York Knicks forward Lance Thomas will be sidelined at least one more week with his orbital fracture.
The New York Knicks have dealt with a number of injuries this season. The latest one happened to Lance Thomas. Thomas suffered his injury on January 15th against the Toronto Raptors.
He was elbowed in the face inadvertently by Raptors center Jonas Valanciuas in the game. He was woozy when heading to the sideline and did not return from the game. It was later revealed that Thomas fractured the orbital bone in his face and was dealing with concussion-like symptoms.
While Thomas avoided a concussion, he is still dealing with headaches stemming from the fracture.
"“It’s just in a tight spot. A lot of sinus pressure,” Thomas said. “Not a full headache. Just on the side of the fracture.”“(The headache) is pretty constant. It spikes,” Thomas said. “And sometimes it goes away.”"
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This is the latest in what has turned into a lost season for Thomas. He has struggled mightily this season as he has dealt with a myriad of lower body injuries. He had an ankle injury that worsened into a bone bruise and plantar fasciitis in both feet.
Thomas felt that his most recent injury was much worse. Valancuinas hit him so hard that Thomas thought he was losing his teeth.
"“Literally holding the mouth guard because I thought my teeth were falling out. It was a hard hit. It wasn’t intentional, just a hard hit.”"
This latest injury will not help Thomas’ get up to speed any quicker. But, at least, he was able to return to the team. Thomas was shooting with his teammates prior to Monday’s victory against the Indiana Pacers. While that is a positive development, head coach Jeff Hornacek believes Thomas will be sidelined at least one more week.
It is fair to question just how much playing time Thomas will receive upon his return. The Knicks are struggling, but their best play has arguably come from small forward and power forward this season; the two positions Thomas had been playing. They also have a young player in Mindaugas Kuzminskas playing well, and who has probably passed Thomas on the depth chart.
But, Thomas could play a role if the Knicks commit to playing Kristaps Porzingis at center and Carmelo Anthony at power forward. That would open up more playing time in small ball lineups for someone like Thomas, who has thrived at both power forward spots for the Knicks in previous seasons.
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Thomas will have to earn his spot back in the rotation. He has struggled this season, averaging only 4.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game. He is also shooting only 37.9 percent from the field as his lower body injuries have derailed him offensively.