NBL decals claim another victim

Weakens the cats, he's excellent.

Perth Wildcat Alex Sarr and potential NBA number one pick set to spend time on the sidelines with injury

Craig O'Donoghue
The West Australian
Sat, 6 January 2024 10:13AM

Perth Wildcats star and potential NBA number one draft Alex Sarr has been ruled out for up to three weeks after injuring his hip after slipping on the court in the club's win over Adelaide.

Sarr crashed to the ground during the first quarter of the clash against the 36ers on December 28. He played out the game and was still involved in the contest in the last quarter, finishing the night with 12 points and two rebounds from 13 minutes on the court.

But in a development which will send shudders through NBA executives, scans revealed a hip strain and he will be unavailable for up to the next three weeks.

That would see him ruled out of Sunday’s match against New Zealand Breakers in Auckland and he would then miss the Wildcats’ return to RAC Arena in an open air clash against South East Melbourne Phoenix on January 13.

He would also be in doubt for matches against Brisbane and Sydney on January 19 and 21.

The Wildcats are currently flying in transit to New Zealand but are unlikely to take any risks with the injury given his current ranking among NBA draft prospects. Experts have him being selected as the number one pick in the draft.

Questions had already been asked about whether Sarr would see out the season given the risk of injury after proving his worth to NBA scouts. Both LaMelo Ball and Josh Giddey failed to complete their NBL seasons as Next Stars once they suffered injuries.

Last month, Sarr said he intended to finish the NBL season.

"Right now we are winning and my goal is to make the play-offs and get the furthest I can," Sarr said.

“Even outside of the draft, it’s cool. I’m having fun out there and competing for something. It’s the first time in my life where I’m part of a league where I’m really trying to win something at the end.

“Outside of anything happening next year, I’m having fun playing every night here.”

The Wildcats will also be without veteran guard Corey Webster for the clash against the Breakers. He hasn’t played since December 15 due to an ankle injury and hasn’t recovered in time.

Sucks but it's Sarr not Cotton no need to brick it just yet

Agreed.
When you sign a lottery-caliber next star, you obviously plan around the possibility of him being put on ice in the new year even if he is still 100% healthy, so I'm sure the Cats have got this covered.
40 minutes per game for Wagstaff from now on. No wuckas.

The slip/fall looked bad, could have been much worse than a three week injury. Hope he's back at 100% soon

I've seen quite a few slips on decals in the NBL but none I can remember in the NBA.

Are we using the wrong kind of decals, or do our players have worse body control, or is it the shoes or ???

Does the NBA actually have much in the way of decals?

Umpires just need to be more diligent about sweat on the court.

NBA I believe dont use decals, what you see on the court when watching the game is digitally put on the screen but not actually on the court itself (at least from memory this is how it is for the sponsor logos)

JLA also had a slip/fall early in the game on Saturday night in the exact same place that was a little scary for mine.

The poor young kid assigned to wipe that decal under the northern basket did not come onto the court then and only came on the court a couple of times when instructed by a referee.

My understanding is that the NBA don't use decals because of the asthetics for the television product. But also NBA floor wipers are fast proactive and efficient. They don’t wait for a referee direction let alone a stop in play

Good time to re-post this shout out to the NBZ floor wipers

Twitter Link

(Don't worry, dude, his speed caught me by surprise as well!)

Halliburton slipped today in the key, did the splits and was carried off. It's not just an NBL thing

The NBA teams own their floors, so they can paint them. NBL teams don't have that option.