Metta World Peace's knee injury that was expected to keep him out well into the playoffs is reportedly healing at a miraculous rate, and he could be ready to go as early as next weekend.
Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register says that World Peace is running at nearly 100 percent, and has already started shooting.
World Peace was injured in the first half of a 109-103 loss to the Golden State Warriors at the end of March, tearing cartilage in his left knee.
He had knee surgery on March 28th, with the timetable for his recovery being six weeks at the very least. That would have put him on track for a May 9th return.
With the playoffs starting on April 20th and the second round starting no later than May 7th, that would mean the Lakers would need to make the playoffs and take down either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the first round in order to see Metta's return.
Now it seems that he could be back for this Friday's game against the Golden State Warriors, but more realistically he'll suit up for the Lakers' April 14th matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.
That would give L.A. a complete(ish) team should they end up making the playoffs (they still won't have Jordan Hill, while Steve Nash should be back by that point).
The game in which World Peace was hurt against the Warriors was just the seventh time the Lakers had their optimal starting lineup together for the entire season.
Sure, the quintet of Nash, Kobe Bryant, World Peace, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard have lost all seven of those games that they started together, but it's still the best starting lineup they can put on the floor.
Even if they aren't all starting together, World Peace adds an undeniable dynamic to this team that nobody else really gives them.
With Bryant having an up-and-down year defensively and a lot of poor perimeter defenders populating their lineup, World Peace is the guy they need to check the ball-handling wingers to keep them from slicing their way into the lane.
With the Lakers in the mindset that World Peace would be out for the season unless they played long enough to see his return, this has to be one of the best possible windfalls for them as they lower their heads for the stretch run.
No comments:
Post a Comment