Kings' Bibby out 6-10 weeks with thumb injury
October 26th, 2007
Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) - Sacramento Kings point guard Mike Bibby tore a ligament in his left thumb during practice Thursday and will likely be out for six to 10 weeks. Bibby did not dress for Sacramento's preseason finale against the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night.
According to a report by the Sacramento Bee, the extent of Bibby's thumb injury was not known until Friday afternoon, when the results of an MRI were revealed. The ninth-year Arizona product flew back to Sacramento Thursday and will be evaluated further in the next couple days.
The Kings will likely use some combination of John Salmons, Quincy Douby, Francisco Garcia and rookie Mustafa Shakur as the primary ball-handlers in place of Bibby, who averaged 17.1 points and 4.7 assists in playing all 82 games during the 2006-07 season.
Sacramento already will be without forward Ron Artest for the first seven games of the regular season as he serves a league-issued suspension. It will also be without first-round draft pick Spencer Hawes, a center out of Washington, for the beginning of the season as he recovers from knee surgery.
New Orleans hosts the Kings Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.