One of the most exciting players of the preseason was Adou Thiero. He really looked like he was blossoming into a 3-and-D player with the potential to get real rotation minutes once the season started.
Unfortunately, a common foe in his past has brought him to a halt.
Thiero did not play in the final two preseason contests, which head coach JJ Redick initially called maintenance. However, the injury report ahead of the Lakers' game against the Warriors revealed that Thiero was dealing with effusion in his left knee, the same knee that caused him to miss time to start his rookie campaign.
Prior to Tuesday's game, Redick talked about Thiero's injury and what the plans were for Thiero.
"He's got some swelling," Redick said. "Definitely something we'll have to continue to monitor. He'll be shut down for a couple of days and then he'll ramp back up. So he's day-to-day, too."
Knee effusion means he has swelling or fluid in the knee . Redick mentioning swelling, then, makes sense.
The two reasons for optimism is that:
Redick said he'd only be shut down for days, not weeks
He's still considered day-to-day
Both are subjective, but both could be worse. Still, it's a major bummer to see Thiero sidelined again with knee issues.
At this point, it feels like the team will have to monitor this issue, at least early in Thiero's career. Not only does he have a history of knee injuries, but now they are recurring.
Fingers crossed this is just a small bump in the road for Thiero and he can build off that strong preseason for a big sophomore campaign.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social .
