Posted on Fri, Dec. 03, 2004

Wallace out with concussion

Bobcats forward kept overnight in hospital for observation, will not play Saturday

CHARLES CHANDLER

Staff Writer

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FORT MILL - Charlotte Bobcats starting forward Gerald Wallace suffered a concussion during practice Thursday and was kept overnight at Presbyterian Hospital for observation.

The team said Wallace would not play Saturday against the New York Knicks, and that it was too early to speculate on his availability for a West Coast trip that begins Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Wallace, who has started all 13 games this season, was pursuing the ball on defense when he was accidentally struck in the head by Tamar Slay's elbow.

"I was making a move and Gerald just ran into my elbow," Slay said.

"He was coming in and (Slay) was pivoting," coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. "He stepped right into it. He was out."

Wallace fell face-down on the court and lay motionless, apparently unconscious, for a minute or more. He slowly began to move his arms and legs and held his face in his hands. He remained on the floor for about 25 minutes while team trainer Joe Sharpe tended to him.

Wallace was placed on a flat board and stretcher by emergency medical personnel while Slay watched with his arms folded.

"Of course, I was concerned," Slay said.

Wallace was driven by ambulance to Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte.

The team said doctors determined Wallace had a second-degree concussion, which is in the middle ranges of severity.

Bickerstaff said he couldn't remember seeing many similar incidents during his coaching career of more than 30 years.

"It shows you how dangerous this is and the fact that basketball being a non-contact sport is a misnomer," he said.

Bickerstaff said it was particularly unsettling to see Wallace on the ground not moving.

"Forget about the basketball part of it," Bickerstaff said. "You care about the young man."

Wallace is the Bobcats' fourth-leading scorer (11.6 points per game) and third-leading rebounder (5.9).

He long has had an aggressive playing style. It's not uncommon for him to have a split lip or a bruised chest from collisions.

His former team, the Sacramento Kings, appreciated his fearlessness, but suspected it contributed to a string of injuries during his three seasons there.

"He falls on the floor harder than anyone I've ever seen," Kings coach Rich Adelman told the Sacramento Bee the day the Bobcats chose Wallace in the expansion draft. "He's got to try to stay healthy so he can establish some rhythm to his game."

Notes

• Forward Emeka Okafor was named the NBA's rookie of the month for November.

Okafor, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, averaged 13.5 points and 10.1 rebounds during November. He also had seven double-doubles and 21 blocked shots.

Okafor took the news of the award almost nonchalantly.

"It's one month," he said. "So far, so good. It's a building process. I still have a lot to learn and a lot to achieve."

• The NBA has rescinded one of two flagrant fouls called against Wallace during a 106-89 loss to Cleveland on Nov. 18.

League officials review all flagrant fouls and can reclassify them. Wallace's fouls were both category 1, the least serious in the NBA system. A player is automatically suspended for a game if he accumulates five category 1 flagrant fouls in a season.

If we can't beat the Bobcats, especially without Wallace, it will be a sad, sad day. I would like to say it will be a gimme, but Bobcats have a better record than the Hawks, and we know how scary that was.

As long as we play with intensity, it should be make us 10-6 or 9-7, depending on tonight's game.

Posted by gunsnewing:

The Nets beat the bobcats. I don't think there's any reason to worry

This should be a game where the Knicks can let the bench play. There shouldn't be any reason why the Bobcats don't get blown out.


But......yeah big o'l but.....

Kapono can shoot and he is a thread to kill the Knicks cuz just liek last night shooters tend to have career nights against the Knicks.....just as a reference remember, Miller and Williams, Wally Z, The Utah Jazz, San Antonio, Dallas, Toronto......these teams and players shot the heck out of the Knicks.

Okafor is a player and he can score so the Knicks can't sleep.
Brezec came on strong but has cooled off. He is due for a big game.
Knight and Hart have been awesome at times.
Bogans has really came on since his move to Charlotte.

They have players so the Knicks must come to play.