'He played so well.' Charlotte Hornets lose Malik Monk again for NBA Summer League.
Injury has blown up Charlotte Hornet Malik Monk's summer once again.
Monk will miss the next six to eight weeks after being diagnosed with a fractured right thumb. The injury apparently happened at the end of the Hornets' opener in NBA Summer League in Las Vegas Friday, when Monk slapped down on a ball in the final three seconds to preserve an 88-87 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Monk missed summer league a year ago as a rookie, and several months after that, with an ankle sprain suffered before the draft. The Hornets selected him 11th overall.
"It's tough. He played so well yesterday," Hornets coach James Borrego said following practice Saturday. "We're not going to let this deter us. It's a little setback right now. He'll be in the gym and we'll continue to work on (dribbling with) his left hand."
Obviously, Monk won't play again in this summer league.
The Hornets next play Sunday at 5 p.m. on NBA TV against the Miami Heat's summer team. Borrego said he anticipates a bigger role this week for Dwayne Bacon, who shot just 4-of-12 Friday.
Borrego didn't say specifically who would start in Monk's absence, but he mentioned that J.P. Macura, who signed a two-way contract with the Hornets, will pick up more minutes.
This story was originally published July 7, 2018 at 8:46 PM with the headline "'He played so well.' Charlotte Hornets lose Malik Monk again for NBA Summer League.."