Hornets’ Dwayne Bacon iffy to play tonight, endorses shifting to second unit
While Charlotte Hornets guard Dwayne Bacon is listed as probable on the injury report, it’s no given he will play Friday night against the Detroit Pistons.
Bacon missed Wednesday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies with a sore right knee. He had an MRI Thursday. He tested the knee doing some shooting Friday morning, and said it’s still iffy whether he’ll be well enough to play Friday.
“It feels fine, but I can’t just rush into things,” Bacon said following shootaround. “We’ve still got 70 games left. I don’t want to come back now and end up coming back too early. Next game, my knee is hurting, and I’m out half of the season.”
Bacon started the Hornets’ first 10 games this season, averaging 9.9 points. He has struggled with his shooting, going 34 percent from the field and 26 percent from 3-point range. Devonte Graham started in Bacon’s place Wednesday.
With Graham excelling -- he leads the Hornets in points (18 per game) and assists (7.3) -- Bacon endorses the idea of leaving Graham in the starting lineup and him joining the second unit.
“I think I should just come off the bench. Especially for some games, just to get my flow back,” Bacon said. “(Graham) is playing great right now and we kind of need that -- that come-out-with-fire start.
“I don’t really care. I’m not a guy who says, ‘Oh, I need to start.’ I don’t care what I do: Start or come off the bench. As long as I play and contribute to the team winning, that’s all that matters.”
Bacon first felt discomfort following the Hornets Sunday road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“After the Philly game, my knee just felt a little funny. At first it had swelling. Now it’s kind of back to normal, with a little bit of soreness. I got an MRI yesterday, and basically you could just see that it’s sore.
“I guess things are uncomfortable in my knee. I’m trying to do everything I can to come back 100 percent, so I can jump right in and play.”
Bacon said his right knee has never been injured before.
“It’s not that bad. That’s what I’m thankful for.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 11:58 AM.
