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05-16-2013, 10:03 AM
New Orleans Pelicans Coach Monty Williams said forward Anthony Davis has recovered from a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will begin participating in volunteer workouts with his teammates next week at the Alario Center.
Davis is going through two workouts a day in Chicago, his hometown, this week with Carlos Daniels, the Pelicans assistant coach/director of player performance. Daniels is in Chicago helping out with the NBA draft combine, which began Wednesday. Williams said Daniels is putting Davis through twice-a-day lifting and working with him to improve different aspects of his game.
Though Davis’ knee injury didn’t require surgery, it forced him to miss the final three games of the season. In all, Davis missed 17 games due to injury this season. Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, suffered a mild concussion and had a stress reaction in left ankle that forced him to miss 13 games between November and early December. In February, he sprained his left shoulder that forced him to miss two games.
Rivers drives to hoopNew Orleans Hornets shooting guard Austin Rivers (25) drives to the hoop during the game between the Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Hornets at the New Orleans Arena on Wednesday, February 13, 2013. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
Williams said guard Austin Rivers is progressing well in his recovery from a fractured right hand that forced him to miss the final 23 games of the regular season.Williams didn't indicate if Rivers has had his cast removed yet.
``Austin, he’s better,’’ Williams said. ``But we’ve just been really cautious with him because Austin is like Dennis the Menace. You don’t put perimeters around Austin; he’ll be playing anywhere where he can get a run.’’
Williams said it’s a good sign to see forward Jason Smith have the ability raise both arms after requiring surgery in March to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder that forced him to miss the final 24 games of the season.
Speaking before last Saturday’s New Orleans Zephyrs’ game, Smith said he is progressing with his rehabilitation but likely won’t be able to do any basketball work until training camp begins next fall.
Williams also provided an injury update on shooting guard Eric Gordon, who said on Tuesday that he played with bone spurs in his left ankle since the All-Star before undergoing minor surgery last week in Los Angeles to remove them.
``Based on what I heard from the doctors and trainers, Eric’s situation is pretty good for us,’’ Williams said. ``They just needed to clean up some stuff from him so he can be 100 percent.We feel like he will be that way well before the season starts.’’
Williams said they started volunteer workouts this week with five or six players participating. But he is expecting more to show up by next week.
``We’re working on foundation stuff such as guys needing to work on their shots, different things, post moves,’’ Williams said. ``What we’re trying to do is pretty hard and it’s not going to happen if we don’t work.
``We’ve have everybody (assistants) back here so we can get back to work. We knew this year was going to be hard, but we hope to get better next year. We certainly don’t feel like we’re going to skip steps.’’
Davis is going through two workouts a day in Chicago, his hometown, this week with Carlos Daniels, the Pelicans assistant coach/director of player performance. Daniels is in Chicago helping out with the NBA draft combine, which began Wednesday. Williams said Daniels is putting Davis through twice-a-day lifting and working with him to improve different aspects of his game.
Though Davis’ knee injury didn’t require surgery, it forced him to miss the final three games of the season. In all, Davis missed 17 games due to injury this season. Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, suffered a mild concussion and had a stress reaction in left ankle that forced him to miss 13 games between November and early December. In February, he sprained his left shoulder that forced him to miss two games.
Rivers drives to hoopNew Orleans Hornets shooting guard Austin Rivers (25) drives to the hoop during the game between the Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Hornets at the New Orleans Arena on Wednesday, February 13, 2013. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
Williams said guard Austin Rivers is progressing well in his recovery from a fractured right hand that forced him to miss the final 23 games of the regular season.Williams didn't indicate if Rivers has had his cast removed yet.
``Austin, he’s better,’’ Williams said. ``But we’ve just been really cautious with him because Austin is like Dennis the Menace. You don’t put perimeters around Austin; he’ll be playing anywhere where he can get a run.’’
Williams said it’s a good sign to see forward Jason Smith have the ability raise both arms after requiring surgery in March to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder that forced him to miss the final 24 games of the season.
Speaking before last Saturday’s New Orleans Zephyrs’ game, Smith said he is progressing with his rehabilitation but likely won’t be able to do any basketball work until training camp begins next fall.
Williams also provided an injury update on shooting guard Eric Gordon, who said on Tuesday that he played with bone spurs in his left ankle since the All-Star before undergoing minor surgery last week in Los Angeles to remove them.
``Based on what I heard from the doctors and trainers, Eric’s situation is pretty good for us,’’ Williams said. ``They just needed to clean up some stuff from him so he can be 100 percent.We feel like he will be that way well before the season starts.’’
Williams said they started volunteer workouts this week with five or six players participating. But he is expecting more to show up by next week.
``We’re working on foundation stuff such as guys needing to work on their shots, different things, post moves,’’ Williams said. ``What we’re trying to do is pretty hard and it’s not going to happen if we don’t work.
``We’ve have everybody (assistants) back here so we can get back to work. We knew this year was going to be hard, but we hope to get better next year. We certainly don’t feel like we’re going to skip steps.’’