Concerns around elbow injury can abate
In a night full of mostly forgettable moments for the Milwaukee Bucks, their preseason debut against the Detroit Pistons was marred most by an elbow injury sustained by Gary Trent Jr. He sustained the injury from a Jalen Duren screen and exited the game to head to the locker room ASAP. The team officially stated he suffered from a, “left elbow hyperextension,” which denotes what happened and not what kind of damage he may or may not have sustained.
Well, good news! He’s going to be okay!
Doc Rivers told reporters that Gary Trent Jr. did not practice today because of his left elbow hyperextension, but added that “he’ll be fine”.
Rivers said there was no MRI needed to check on ligament damage and he suspects Trent will play Thursday, but won’t guarantee it. https://t.co/83s0OLR18p
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) October 8, 2024
To go from what looked like a possible serious ligament injury that could keep him out for a notable amount of time to… potentially playing just a few days later against the Lakers? Pretty impressive!
Overall, though, it is good news for both player and team. GTJ is almost certainly a lock as the team’s fifth starter and any lost momentum now would just put both sides behind the eight ball as far as acclimation and strategy go. Trent Jr. looked the part in his limited minutes against Detroit before the injury with a pair of baskets — he neither dominated the ball nor put himself in ineffective spots on the floor, so he stuck to the middle ground that will be expected of him with the main starters.
If Trent Jr. can’t go against the Lakers (I think it likely that the team would prioritize avoiding re-aggravation, but who knows), expect the likes of AJ Green to get the nod to step into the ad hoc starting lineup in his stead.