Hawes out for longer period; Sixers host Mavericks tonight
It was announced at Sixers shootaround this morning that starting center Spencer Hawes will be placed in a walking boot for hurt Achilles'.
The news just keeps getting worse for the Sixers regarding starting center Spencer Hawes. At this morning's shootaround it was announced that Hawes is in a walking boot for his strained left Achilles' and that he would wear that for two more weeks. Hawes will also visit Dr. Richard Ferkel from the Southern California Orthopedic Institute during the All-Star break to get a second opinion.
"That's where it is," said coach Doug Collins. "It's been my experience that being around it as I have that when you put a boot on, for every day you have that boot on it's two more (to recover) once you get out. Because your leg will atrophy and you can't do the strength stuff. So they don't want him to do to much on it right now. When you immobilize something and you can't use it, especially as a professional athlete, the atrophy and how quickly things set in are really quick. If Spencer's in this boot for a week or ten days, I would expect him to be out a little while. In a year like this, especially with bigger guys, the healing time and the minute you go play again, I was worried that this was what was going to happen."
Tonight, when the Sixers host the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, it will be the 17th game Hawes has missed this season after missing just one last year. The Sixers (20-10) are 8-8 without Hawes this season.
More on the Mavericks-Sixers matchup to come in a bit...