UPDATE 4:32 pm: Lee has been diagnosed with “mallet finger” which is when the tendon that allows control of the part of the finger beyond the last joint comes off. The treatment: wear a split on your finger for six weeks. But this is fairly common and treatable.
3:22 pm: You had a feeling things would not be good when David Lee said yesterday he looked down at the middle finger on his right hand and it was facing sideways.
Lee will be out four to six weeks, meaning he will miss the World Championships, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo. Coach Mike Krzyzewski just confirmed that to the media in Vegas at the Team USA training camp.
However, he will not need surgery and he will be ready to go at training camp for the Golden State Warriors. The entire Bay Area just exhaled at once. This was also on his non-shooting hand, so he should come back at full form.
This means one less player who can be physical inside for Team USA, who are thin along the front line. Brook Lopez is at center and after that it is Tyson Chandler, and maybe some Kevin Love if they go small. If they face a big front line like Brazil, this could be an issue.