The Portland Trail Blazers will be without their starting small forward for more than a month.
The team announced Wednesday that, after undergoing further medial evaluation, it was determined that Evan Turner will be sidelined between five and six weeks with a fracture of the third metacarpal in his right hand. The injury will not require surgery.
Turner suffered the fracture in the third quarter of the Blazers’ 114-113 victory over the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night when he tried to navigate around screen from Harrison Barnes on defense.
There is good news and bad news regarding the timing of the injury. The good news is that the weeklong All-Star break is looming later this month, meaning there is a built-in break in the schedule that potentially lessens the number of games Turner will miss.
The bad news, however, is that the Blazers (23-30) are desperate for wins after underachieving all season and they need all the help they can get in their chase for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoff race. According to his recovery timeline, Turner is expected to miss between 15 and 18 games — the Blazers have just 29 left this season.
They sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, one game behind the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot.
After a slow start, Turner has steadily improved this season and his addition to the starting lineup in January helped the Blazers gain a little midseason momentum. Since he and Noah Vonleh replaced Al-Farouq Aminu and Moe Harkless in the starting five on Jan. 20, the Blazers have earned quality victories over the Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks, while amassing a 5-4 record.
Turner, who signed a 4-year, $70 million free agent contract with the Blazers in July, is averaging 9.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game this season.
Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman
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