Delonte West‘s performance in the Celtics’ loss Friday night to the Bobcats — 1-of-6 shooting, two points, one assist, zero rebounds — was bad, but it wasn’t inexplicable. There’s a very simple explanation, in fact: West is still suffering from the sprained ankle that sidelined him a month ago in Utah.
“I keep trying to downplay it,” West said. “But I’ve had a sprained ankle before, and normally it only takes two or three days and you’re back in action, but now they’re saying I’ve got a chipped bone in there.”
West says he doesn’t plan to miss any more games with the injury. He already sat out eight contests between Feb. 28 and March 14, and he wants to play now. But he admits that the ankle has gotten worse this week.
“I think I kind of overdid it a little bit in practice [Thursday],” he admitted. “I was going super hard, and the ankle swelled back up on me.
“I did two hours of treatment [Friday morning], and I didn’t shoot around before the game. I said once I step on the court, there’s no excuses.”
West played 17 minutes Friday, coming off the bench behind Ray Allen at the two-spot. He tried to ignore the pain in his ankle, but it didn’t go well.
“I was hobbling all game,” he said. “Trying not to think about it, trying to just keep pushing through it.”
The next couple of days will be hectic for West. He hopes to be on the floor Sunday night, when the Celtics take on the Timberwolves in Minnesota, but first he has to fly to Washington, D.C., for a hearing. His nine-month house arrest stemming from last year’s weapons charges ends Saturday.
From D.C., it’s onto Minneapolis, where he hopes to be ready.
“I think a day or two should be sufficient,” he said. “I should be good to go next game. I said no more excuses, so this is going to be the last time you hear about the ankle from me.”
