Oklahoma City Thunder backup point guard Eric Maynor will miss the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee…..General manager Sam Presti said tests Sunday morning revealed that Maynor had torn the ligament in the fourth quarter of Oklahoma City’s 98-95 victory at Houston on Saturday night and will need season-ending surgery.
Maynor is the primary backup to All-Star Russell Westbrook and was averaging 4.2 points and 2.4 assists in 15 minutes per game this season. Maynor finished each of his first two NBA seasons in the top 10 in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. He had averaged more than three assists for every turnover both seasons.
”Eric’s a smart player. He understands that position and understands that role because he’s been with it for a while with us. He was great with that unit,” coach Scott Brooks said Sunday night. ”We have to figure out how we’re going to move forward with it but Eric is a really, really good player and it’s not easy losing him.”
Maynor’s injury is the first disruption to Oklahoma City’s 10-man rotation, which had been intact from last season’s run to the Western Conference finals. That gave the Thunder an advantage with a shortened training camp and limited practice time in an NBA season condensed by the lockout.
Now, Brooks must figure out the best way to move forward without Maynor. The Thunder have two other reserve point guards, rookie Reggie Jackson and veteran Royal Ivey, and Brooks said James Harden could also play the point instead of on the wing.
