AT&T CENTER – The San Antonio Spurs announced Wednesday forward Doug McDermott is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a grade three right ankle sprain.
After McDermott underwent an MRI examination, the results confirmed the injury. McDermott has now begun a rehabilitation program for the injury.
The Spurs have 13 regular season games remaining. They’re currently 3.5 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for 9th out West and 2 games behind the New Orleans Pelicans for 10th.
Finishing 9th or 10th gives a team the opportunity to play in the play-in tournament to try to become a playoff team.
With McDermott out, the Spurs have been starting even smaller with Josh Richardson joining the starting group of Dejounte Murray, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Jakob Poeltl.
In 62 possessions, the new starting five are outscoring opponents by 3.2 points per 100 possessions per CleaningTheGlass.com.
If McDermott does miss the remainder of the season, he’ll finish his first season as a Spur being one of the most efficient shooters on the team. McDermott has played in 51 games, averaging 24 minutes, 11.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. He’s shooting 46% from the floor, 42% from three, and 78% from the free throw line.
The Spurs signed McDermott last summer to a three year deal. He’s earning $13.7 million this season and will earn $13.7 million in each of the next two seasons.
