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Jennings out 4 to 6 weeks with broken left foot
Portland - Brandon Jennings will be out for four to six weeks with a fractured fifth metatarsal in his left foot and will undergo surgery in Milwaukee on Monday afternoon, the team announced.
Jennings suffered the injury in San Antonio last week and underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam on Sunday that confirmed a diagnosis made by Bucks physician Michael Gordon. Jennings played 30 minutes against Utah on Saturday but complained of pain in his left foot after the game and said he had little lateral movement.
The 21-year-old point guard's streak of 107 consecutive regular-season games will end Monday night when the Bucks play the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden. He has started all 114 games (including playoffs) since joining the Bucks after being selected 10th overall in the 2009 draft.
"Brandon has missed one practice in two years, let alone missing a game," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said after the team's shootaround at the Rose Garden on Monday morning. "He's been very, very durable. It's unfortunate.
"Injuries are a huge part of pro sports. We keep thinking at some point we'll have everybody healthy for a practice. We haven't had that yet this year. We're a little bit snakebit with it. But we need guys to step up and perform."
Jennings was the Bucks' leading scorer, averaging 17.9 points, and he also led the team in assists (5.5 per game) and three-point field goals (47).
"You think about his age and his frame," Skiles said. "He's been incredibly durable. It's kind of a freak thing. We've just got to try to get him right. He's a young player with a bright future and we've got to think long term and let him come back when he's 100%.
"And you don't want to mess around with feet. It's a tough game to play without healthy feet."
Keyon Dooling will move into the starting lineup at point guard with help from veteran Earl Boykins.
"Anytime you lose a key player, some things are going to change a little bit," Skiles said. "But one of the things we tried to do in the summer was get a little deeper in case things like this happened.
"At the same time, we still want to play good defense. We want to push it up and down the floor a little bit and hopefully we have guys step into the void and play well for us."
Bucks center Andrew Bogut missed significant time with injuries in the past two-plus seasons, first with a stress fracture in his lower back and then when he suffered a broken right hand and dislocated right elbow in a fall to the floor on April 3 last season.
Bogut is back in the lineup now and said the team will have to cope with Jennings' absence.
"It's a matter of getting guys to play hard in their minutes, knowing they're going to play and try to earn minutes for when Brandon is back and healthy," Bogut said. "Maybe we'll find a couple of shining lights."
It's hard to remember the Bucks without Jennings in the lineup. Since he made his NBA debut with a near triple-double in Philadelphia (19 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists) in October 2009, he has been a fixture in the Milwaukee lineup.
"Brandon obviously is going through a tough time at the moment," Bogut said. "It's his first time injured as an NBA player so he's probably going through all kind of things mentally, but we've just got to stay positive and try to hold the ship for him.
"We've got to learn how to play without different players at different times. Guys were getting used to playing without me with my arm situation, and now we've got to do the same with Brandon. He's going to have to rehab this injury and it might not go away quickly either."
The injury will not end Jennings' season and he could be expected back in early February if all goes according to plan.
"We know Brandon is going to be back, probably sooner rather than later," Skiles said. "We've got to see how we're going to play without him first.
"Whenever somebody is opening up your body, it's never minor. But this is something a lot of guys have healed pretty quickly from.
"And that's the other thing with Brandon. When he has been nicked up with little things, he's been a quick healer. He'll be really serious about his rehab."
Jennings, Carlos Delfino and Corey Maggette all are out with injuries at the moment, and Michael Redd has not played since January after undergoing anterior cruciate ligament surgery on his left knee for the second straight year. Delfino has been sidelined since Nov. 6 after suffering a concussion and Maggette hit his head in the game against Utah on Saturday and is out with concussive symptoms.
Drew Gooden recently returned to the lineup after missing six games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot and Bogut has missed six games, five due to a back injury.
"When you're 10-15, when isn't it tough," Skiles said of Jennings' injury. "It's never going to come at an ideal time. Hopefully we've acquired enough depth that the guys that are going to come in and play for him will play well.
"Even if Brandon played tonight, we're trying to play well consistently, which we really haven't done yet. We've had our moments. Things like this happen and it seems kind of gloom and doom. But sometimes it can galvanize a group and guys can play better. We have to hope that's going to be the case."
One problem for the Bucks is their depth at the wing positions, where Dooling has spent some time behind starter John Salmons. But now Dooling will be starting and playing big minutes at point guard.
And Maggette and Delfino - two players who could play at the 2 guard spot - are out.
"Our 2 and 3 spots appeared to have a lot of depth but right now we're a little short-handed," Skiles said. "CDR (Chris Douglas-Roberts) is capable of playing big minutes and Luc Mbah a Moute can always play the 3 as well. We feel we have enough bodies at least."
Portland has dealt with its share of injuries and will be without Brandon Roy for Monday's game. Nicolas Batum, Marcus Camby and Joel Przybilla are questionable to play.
"This is one team, from my seat, it almost seems silly to be lamenting guys being hurt," Skiles said. "They've had so many injury problems in the past two or three years and they've been able to overcome it.
"They've been able to hang together and have good seasons. The guys they bring in - Rudy Fernandez, for instance, would start for some teams. They've done a heck of a job of weathering all that."
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