More on Enes Kanter Injury
Joe Freeman: Enes Kanter said he re-separated his left shoulder in the first overtime and also injured his right bursa earlier in the game. Both were wrapped in ice afterward and he said he wasn’t sure he’d be able to play in Game 4.
Enes Kanter: Whatever it freaking takes #RipCity pic.twitter.com/ok9l0Mf5I8
Duvalier Johnson: Enes Kanter warming up. Was listed as a gametime decision but looks as if he is a go. pic.twitter.com/AgG1kwNYbZ
Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff Writer: Enes Kanter said he will test his injured shoulder in shootaround and then talk to the trainer to see about if he will play tonight in Game 1 against Denver. Kanter said it is feeling better but he still has trouble sleeping and even putting a shirt on. He's tested the shoulder two days in a row now on the court.
Casey Holdahl: Enes Kanter (shoulder) says he’s questionable for Game 1
Kanter says he separated his left shoulder early on during Portland's deciding Game 5 against Oklahoma City on Tuesday in the opening round. The Blazers returned to practice Friday. Kanter was shooting during the workout, although at times he rubbed the shoulder. "I think the Blazers are doing a very good job taking care of it. But, I mean obviously, I'm not going to lie, it hurts pretty bad," he said. "I mean I'm having a hard time changing my shirt or eating food. So it's a process. We're just taking it day by day, see how it feels."
Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter's status for the second round of the playoffs remains uncertain because of a shoulder injury as Portland waits to learn its opponent. Kanter says he separated his left shoulder early on during Portland's deciding Game 5 against Oklahoma City on Tuesday in the opening round. The Blazers returned to practice Friday.
Kanter was shooting during the workout, although at times he rubbed the shoulder. He said afterward that he was in pain and taking his recovery day by day.
This time around, Kanter -- a midseason pickup by the Blazers -- started in place of injured Portland center Jusuf Nurkic and averaged 29.3 minutes per game in the series, as well as 13.2 points and 10.2 rebounds. Kanter did so during Tuesday's Game 5 while playing through a separated left shoulder suffered in the first quarter. He received an injection in the shoulder at halftime and gutted his way through 32 minutes despite clearly being pain at times. "I just tried to play through it," Kanter said afterward. "We'll see what happens in the future."
"Even with the pain, he was posting up," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "We played through him a little bit in the fourth quarter. He got some big rebounds but the toughness he showed, I think it's a little indicative of our team, the fact that everybody does whatever they can to get a win."
Carey Holdahl: Enes Kanter says his right hand is feeling better, though it’s not 100 percent. “It’s the playoffs... not going to worry about it, just go out there and play.”
Mike Vorkunov: Enes Kanter weighs in on whether his illness 10 days ago was from his cheat day and eating 7 burgers like he said he did on Instagram: "It was not burgers. Well I ate a lot of burgers that night. It was the flu." Says compounded by the flight from West coast and little sleep.
Enes Kanter appears to have recovered from his multi-hamburger cheat day. Kanter, who missed two games because of an illness, practiced with the team. Kanter, who has been the focus of much trade speculation, will not be joining the team in London because he has safety concerns because of his opposition to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ian Begley: Enes Kanter has flu-like symptoms and they’ve been impacting him the last two days, according to David Fizdale.
Steve Popper: No Enes Kanter (illness), Frank Ntilikina (sprained left ankle) or Mitchell Robinson (groin strain) for Knicks tonight versus Indiana.
Steve Popper: Enes Kanter has upgraded himself to probable.
Ian Begley: The Knicks say that Michael Beasley (illness) is available to play tonight against Miami. Enes Kanter (back and wrist) and Lance Thomas (illness) will not play.
Enes Kanter wants to play again if he can before the Knicks call it a (bad) season after four more games. There may be megamillions of reasons for him not to risk it with the chance to opt out from the final year of his contract, but he’s still all in here. “It would be really selfish to think about opting in or opting out or thinking about my contract,” Kanter said after sitting out practice Thursday due to soreness in his lower back and right wrist that cost him the last two games. “Giving up on my teammates and my team would be really selfish. The Knicks are still paying me. I’m still part of the team. If I feel healthy, I’m just going to go out there and fight.”
Enes Kanter still hopes to return to the lineup for NYK’s final 4 games. He’s missed the last 2 due to back spasms & a wrist injury. “It doesn’t matter if we have one or two games left, 10 games left or whatever, you still want to go out there and fight with your teammates.”
Ian Begley: Enes Kanter still hopes to return to the lineup for NYK’s final 4 games. He’s missed the last 2 due to back spasms & a wrist injury. “It doesn’t matter if we have one or two games left, 10 games left or whatever, you still want to go out there and fight with your teammates.”
Ian Begley: Jeff Hornacek on Enes Kanter, who has missed the past two games due to back and wrist injuries: "Doctors are looking at him and I don't know if he'll be back by the end or not."
Al Iannazzone: Michael Beasley (illness) and Enes Kanter (sore lower back/right wrist) are out tonight for the Knicks. Courtney Lee and Frank Ntilikina are available to play.
Enes Kanter could barely walk in the visitor’s locker room after Wednesday’s 118-101 Knicks loss to the 76ers, still racked with back pain after a hard fall. He hobbled down the hallway for X-rays that were negative, but he still plans to see a back specialist in New York. It was as tough to watch as these past five Knicks seasons.
Brian Mahoney: Enes Kanter out today for Knicks because of back spasms.
Mike Vorkunov: Enes Kanter going for surgery tomorrow on his lip because it keeps opening up and bleeding, he says. Opened up again tonight. He says he'd play right away if they let him.
Enes Kanter showed up for the Knicks game with the Hawks on Sunday on crutches. So naturally, he started. “If you’re going to make the playoffs, you’re going to make some sacrifices,” said Kanter, who was feeling the effects of getting kneed in the hip Saturday in Chicago — an injury that left him on crutches for two days. “I was in pain but [the doctors] just literally said, ‘Hey, if you want to play, we’re not going to say don’t play.’ “They just say, ‘OK, it’s your decision.’ ”
Steve Popper: Some unsolicited teammates on Enes Kanter: Jarrett Jack: He’s the first guy by the way I’ve ever seen come to a game on crutches, still start the game and he’s about to leave on crutches. I’ve never seen that before in my 13 years in the league.
Barbara Barker: Kristaps Porzingis will play tonight against Portland. Enes Kanter is out.
Maybe it was the pain medication talking, but center Enes Kanter vowed to play Monday, when the Knicks return home from their disastrous 0-2 Southern trip to play Portland. Kanter missed both losses with back spasms and still hasn’t recovered, but he wants to suit up anyhow if team doctors allow it. The Knicks’ quirky, old-school center is the antithesis of the modern-day NBA player who prefers to err on the side of caution. “[Saturday] morning I was still having a hard time even walking,’’ Kanter said late Saturday night after the shorthanded Knicks blew a 22-point first-quarter lead in losing to the Rockets. “But I think I’m going to try to play the next game Monday. I might not be 100 percent, but I’m going to try to play Monday. If they don’t give me the green light, I can’t do anything about it. But I want to play Monday for sure.”
Ian Begley: Enes Kanter (back spasms) and Kristaps Porzingis (lower back tightness) are out tonight against Houston, the Knicks announce.
Ian Begley: The Knicks say Enes Kanter (back spasms) is questionable for tonight’s game against Houston. He missed last night’s loss in Atlanta due to the back ailment.
Enes Kanter took the blame for the Knicks’ 116-104 loss to the Hawks because he was “in the locker room crying like a baby.” Kanter woke up Friday with severe back spasms. He said he couldn’t walk but wanted to play through it. The Knicks held Kanter out, and his presence was missed. Kanter said that if he had played, he could have been out multiple weeks.
Al Iannazzone: Enes Kanter has back spasms and will not play tonight
Enes Kanter: I know man, I hate them chairs too 💺 Be careful tho 🙄
Kanter underwent surgery on Friday and will be re-evaluated in four weeks, but could miss up to two months, according to league sources. "I don't want to put no pressure on myself or the medical staff or anybody," Kanter said of his timetable. "I just want to get healthy and get back on the floor as soon as possible."
"Of course it's like a really sad thing because like, I mean because you're letting your teammates down when you make a mistake like that," Kanter said. "I mean your coaches down and stuff. But the only thing you can do is just, you know, you learn from it. The one thing you know I wish we could go back time and then I could take it back. But mistake happens and we just got to learn from it and control your emotions."
"They were just making a lot of jokes about it," Kanter said. "I remember someone on a website did an interview with the chair and asking it some questions. A lot of people just making fun of the chair and all this stuff. You know, people are going to talk and there's nothing you can do about it except get back on the court as soon as possible."
Royce Young: Enes Kanter had surgery on his fractured right arm this morning and will be re-evaluated in approximately four weeks.
Oklahoma City center Enes Kanter sustained a fractured forearm after punching a chair on the Thunder’s bench on Thursday night, a self-inflicted injury that could sideline him six to eight weeks, league sources told The Vertical. Kanter, the Thunder’s second-highest-paid player at $17.1 million a season, fired his fist into the empty chair in frustration on his way to the bench during a first-half timeout in Oklahoma City’s 109-98 victory over Dallas.
"It's tough, man, especially to do it the way he did it, it's very unfortunate," Russell Westbrook said. "He's a strong man, and he'll be back better.
"Something like that, bro, he didn't mean to do it, obviously," Steven Adams said. "It was just one of those really frustrating times and just happened to do what he did. He's already really hard on himself, like no one else can be as hard on Enes as he is on himself. He's probably just feeling so under the weather, just feel bad for him. But still a good man, give him some time, and he'll be back."
Adrian Wojnarowski: After punching a chair on bench tonight, there's a fear OKC's Enes Kanter fractured his right hand, league sources tell @TheVertical.
