Normally anything that happens in the NBA Summer League is simply not worth talking about. It is basically a professional athlete get-together with the results being completely insignificant. It deserves a minuscule footnote on a page.
However something did happen on Monday according to the Canadian Press that has negative implications and consequences for the New Orleans Pelicans. In a summer league game between the Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks in Las Vegas, Nevada, Pelicans power forward E.J. Liddell of Belleville, Illinois tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, and will be out for an estimated six to nine months. That would mean Liddell, who was the Pelicans’s second round pick, 41st overall in the 2022 NBA Draft out of Ohio State, will be out until January at the earliest.
One must question why these Summer League games are being played at all. The reason obviously has to deal with economics, but from the health of the players, it could be better that players take some time away from basketball when the short offseason is in effect. This is coming from someone who finds preseason play in professional sports completely not worth watching, and now we have to deal with this.
Last year with the Buckeyes, Liddell averaged 19.4 points per game, and 7.9 rebounds per game. Another impressive statistic was the fact he had 2.6 blocks per game, which allowed him to get on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team in 2022.
Liddell is not the first Pelican player to have a notable offseason injury. During last year’s offseason, Zion Williamson broke his foot and did not play the 2021-22 NBA regular season at all. Also, Williamson tore his meniscus in exhibition play and was out three months before he actually played his first regular season game.
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