Detroit Pistons reserve big man Marvin Bagley III is expected to miss “extended time” with a right hand injury suffered in last night’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Detroit Pistons forward Marvin Bagley III has sustained a right-hand injury is expected to miss extended time, sources tell ESPN. Bagley III is undergoing further evaluation to determine next steps.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 3, 2023
It is the latest in a long list of injuries Marvin Bagley has suffered during his first six seasons in the NBA. His career high for games played in his career is 62 his rookie season, and he hasn’t played more than 48 games in a season since.
We are still waiting on more details as to the extent of the injury, as he is undergoing further evaluation today, but he left last night’s game in the second quarter and did not return.
Bagley already missed the first month of this season with a knee injury suffered in the final game of the preseason. Since returning, he has averaged a career-low 10.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Although he is no longer a starter for the Pistons, he is still their first big off the bench and an athletic finisher inside who can grab rebounds. Both of those things will be missed while he is out. He is also one of only two players in Detroit’s rotation who stands over 6-foot-10.
Injuries have not been kind to the Pistons this season, as they have already lost Cade Cunningham for the season. But Alec Burks, Bagley, Isaiah Stewart, Isaiah Livers, and even Saddiq Bey have missed various amounts of time with injuries this season. For a team with such a slim margin for error in every game, any rotation player missing time is a problem.
Hopefully the injury is not too severe and Bagley can return in a few weeks. The story will be updated when more information is available.