Hearts sank on Friday night as New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi went down with a knee injury. He was in a ton of pain and had to be helped back to the locker room, which was a scary sight. There was some good news on Saturday, though, as he has seemingly avoided the worst-case scenario of a season-ending injury.
No surgery will be needed, as the team announced the diagnosis of a bone bruise due to hyperextension after Zion Williamson fell down hard on his leg. This injury has a wide variance from a couple of weeks to a couple of months depending on how bad it was. There is not yer a timetable for his return.
His loss will certainly be felt for as long as he is out. There was a lot of excitement about him heading into this season, and he had been off to a great start. He had 13 points and 14 rebounds in their first game and is their best rim protector by a wide margin. He is one of the highest potential rim protectors in all of the NBA.
Both this coaching staff and the front office are counting on a ton from Missi this year, given how the roster is constructed. There isn't much size outside of him, so it could cause a change in game plan.
In their first game without Missi, Jamahl Mosley opted to start DeAndre Jordan against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. It'll be interesting to see just how much they rely on Jordan on the court this year, as he is known more as a player-coach right now. When he did see minutes last season, he was effective, at least.
Derik Queen and Karlo Matkovic also just got more important, as they will ideally receive a big bump in playing time.
Queen has been slower to start games so far this year, but has been good at responding and putting together overall solid performances. He is at least giving more effort on the defensive side of the ball, though his ceiling there is still questionable.
Matkovic didn't play in the first game, but look good in his minutes after Missi went down. He's another great athlete, but he's just not as strong as Missi is. Matkovic does provide more on offense, though, as the teams only real three-point threat at center.
Only time will tell how much of an impact is felt, but on paper, this feels like a very big deal for a Pelicans team that started 0-2.