David Lee won't require surgery and should fully recover from a hip flexor tear that ended his season in the first game of the Golden State Warriors' postseason. Dr. William T. Long told the San Francisco Chronicle that the outlook for the forward, at least in the long term, is good:
David Lee injury: Warriors forward won’t need surgery
The Golden State Warriors forward is expected to make a full recovery from his hip flexor tear.
"The good news is that it rarely requires an operation. Almost never," Long said. "In my orthopedic lifetime of 25 years, I've never seen it require an operation. Not once. He should recover and heal completely. It's not expected to cause trouble down the line."
Here without you
An analysis of how the Warriors played without David Lee Long also speculated that persisting back pain for Lee could have been early signs that the hip flexor was torn before he went down in Game 1 of the first round series against the Denver Nuggets. The hip flexor involves both the leg and back by attaching the spine to the thigh.
Although Lee will be fine with a while to rest, his Warriors teammates will continue without him. Coach Mark Jackson heads to game two with either Festus Ezeli or Carl Landry starting in Lee's place at the power forward slot. But with Denver expected to have athletic 4-man Kenneth Faried ready to play after sitting out Game 1 with an ankle problem, Jackson could throw rookie swingman Harrison Barnes at the power forward spot.
Whatever the case may be, the Warriors have struggled without Lee. In 21 games without him over the last three seasons, Golden State has a 3-18 record.
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