An MRI on the right ankle of New Jersey Nets All-Star guard Vince Carter on Monday revealed a Grade 1 sprain, which actually is somewhat of good news for the team.
According to some reports, Carter could miss up to three weeks, but the Nets won't put a timetable on his return. However, Carter will not play in Wednesday's game at Boston, but will be evaluated after that.
"He's very sore," team president Rod Thorn said. "We just have to see how he comes around. He's too sore to play right now."
Carter was hurt in the third quarter of a 112-101 loss to Boston on Saturday. He landed on the foot of Celtics forward Paul Pierce after a dunk.
Carter averaged 17.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists through the first six games. He signed a four-year contract valued at about $65 million in the offseason.
"I guess relieved is a good word in that it could have been a whole lot worse," coach Lawrence Frank said.
"(Carter) has felt better every day. He has gotten multiple treatments."
After Wednesday, the Nets host Orlando on Friday and Miami on Saturday. There's basically no chance Carter would return and play back-to-back games. A more likely scenario is the former Tar Heel returning during next week's four-game road trip.
Monday's game was only the third Carter has missed for New Jersey since Dec. 27, 2004; New Jersey is 0-3 without him.
Carter isn't going to rush back and risk a worse injury.
"I don't want to put a timetable on it. I want to make sure it's 100 percent and go from there," he said."Ankles are nothing to play with. I've been there before."
Antoine Wright will continue to start in Carter's place; Wright scored 12 points in 41 minutes in a loss against New Orleans on Monday.
TWO KINGS TO RETURN: Kings center Brad Miller missed Sacramento's loss at Utah on Monday night because of a right quadriceps contusion.
"It's unfortunate because Brad had been playing really hard the last couple games," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "He really has stepped up his intensity level.
Miller was coming off a three-game stretch where had totaled 37 rebounds, but he is expected to play Wednesday at Minnesota, where the Kings will also get another starter back: Ron Artest. Artest is likely to be starting at power forward as he returns from a seven-game suspension for an offseason domestic abuse charge.
C's GET ALL A's THUS FAR: You could say all the offseason moves by Danny Ainge have been paying off for the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics are the NBA's only unbeaten team heading into Tuesday night's game at Indiana. Boston is 5-0, its best start in 20 seasons. The Celtics haven't six in a row to open a season since 1987-88.
The Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett have been better than advertised so far. They have combined to average 68.8 of the 107.6 points Boston is scoring a contest. They've also helped the Celtics post a league-leading 52.4 field-goal percentage. In addition, Boston is allowing only 91.0 points per game compared to 99.2 last season. Boston leads the league with a +16.6-point average differential.
However, the Celtics have had trouble with the Pacers.
They have lost three in a row to Indiana (3-3), which has dropped three consecutive games since winning its first three contests. WagerWeb.com lists Boston as a 6.5-point favorite for Tuesday's game.
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