David Lee out for game after unable to shoot free throws

San Antonio Spurs center David Lee injures his leg after going up for a dunk. He left the game in a wheelchair, as he was unable to attempt his free throws.

The San Antonio Spurs have definitely been bitten by the injury bug in the NBA Playoffs. They lost point guard Tony Parker for the season after injuring his leg in the second round.

Small forward Kawhi Leonard is still dealing with a high ankle sprain after a questionable close out by Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia in Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals. Now it seems that center David Lee is hurt.

Lee went up for a dunk against the Warriors in Game 3 at home. He did not come down clean, having clearly injured his leg. Lee had to be taken off the court in a wheelchair. Since he was unable to attempt his two free throw attempts, Lee is now out for the rest of Game 3.

This is another devastating loss for the Spurs. While they have the basketball culture to hold serve and win Game 3 at home, losing another key rotational player does not help the Spurs in the long run.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has opted to use all three centers on his roster in the form of Lee, Pau Gasol and Dewayne Dedmon to create interesting starting lineups in these NBA Playoffs. Lee started games in the conference quarterfinals against the Memphis Grizzlies and in the conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets. Popovich has leaned on Gasol at the five for most of the conference finals.

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If Lee is out for any extended period, that will only hurt the Spurs’ chances to advance to the NBA Finals. Winning on the road in Oakland is already massively difficult and necessary for the Spurs to advance. We might be seeing the Spurs’ postseason run coming to an end sooner rather than later.