Andrea Bargnani did not play in the second half of Sunday’s surprisingly easy Italian win over Israel. That victory sets Italy up for a huge EuroBasket game Tuesday against Lithuania.
What kind of injury did Bargnani suffer? Will he be able to play Tuesday? These are excellent questions, but the Italian coach was channeling Bill Belichick and dodged any answers, according to David Pick.
Andrea Bargnani has a "muscle problem", said Italian coach. His condition on future: "unknown".
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) September 13, 2015
As noted by Nets’ Daily, Bargnani has been battling calf injuries for a couple of years and those that watched the game seem to think it is related to that recurring issue. Whether this is something that could potentially carry over to Nets training camp (or beyond) remains to be seen. Although did anyone expect Bargnani to stay healthy all season?
Bargnani has looked comfortable in the European game at EuroBasket, averaging 12.3 points a game on 54 percent shooting (and he’s hitting 54 percent from three). He even made some defensive plays. Not that I would bet on any of this carrying over to the NBA season.
The Nets signed the former No. 1 pick this summer as a free agent, but before you roll your eyes they got him on a minimum contract so it’s not a bad roll of the dice for a team that could use a floor spacing big man. (Although, why they gave him a $1.5 million player option for next season is a little more confusing.)