An unpleasant event took place in a recent Indiana Pacers – Miami game. So, Indiana Pacers defeated Miami, and Derrick Jones, Jr. was carried off on a stretcher.
As a result of this game, Indiana Pacers earned twenty-three points, which gave this team the Eastern Conference fourth seed, while Miami had one of the best players out of the game.
As we know, this game took place in Orlando, Florida. But it changed nothing, as neither a higher seed nor all advantages of the home court helped Miami to win.
Details of the Collision
So, in the third quarter, Jones has been down for several minutes, he’s been holding his neck after taking a hard screen by Goga Bitadze. He got help immediately, he was given a neck brace and transported to the hospital.
In the hospital, he was diagnosed with a sprained neck, so it will take some time for him to recover, but he will certainly come back to continue his career.
Eyewitnesses’ Words
Erik Spoelstra was shocked when he saw Jones lying on the floor. He noticed that it took the air out of the building, as a player’s injury is the worst scenario all teams are trying to avoid, as it may influence future games of the team that faced such a problem.
Indiana Pacers players also have admitted that even competitors don’t want players from the team they are competing with to be injured. All the participants just want to have everybody available for the play-offs.
Conclusion
For now, it’s still unclear whether we should expect Jones to come back for the opening round of the playoffs. A need to replace him with another player is the main problem the team is facing now.
Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala are potential candidates.
It’s a pity for Jones to miss the first round of the postseason, but this injury will not become a reason for him to finish his career.
What do you think, will the absence of this player affect future games somehow? Let us know in the comments below.
Also, you can read The first symbolic 5 of the “bubble”.
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