Mike Bibby Out 6-10 Weeks With Thumb Injury

The Sacramento Kings were never expected to be any good this year (sorry, TZ), so the last thing they needed was for the uphill climb to get steeper. Unfortunately, that's what happened on Friday when Mike Bibby underwent an MRI that revealed a torn ligament in his left thumb. He'll miss the next 6-10 weeks.

Of course, he was supposed to miss two weeks with a similar injury last year but ended up playing through it. Based solely on the extended timeline this year, though, I doubt that'll happen again.

What's odd is that the team doesn't even know when the injury occurred: he actually made the trip with the team to Las Vegas on Thursday but returned back to Sacramento on Friday morning for the MRI. He claims the injury happened a few days prior in practice, but apparently he didn't take it seriously until the pain lingered a few more days. If you look closely at the picture above (taken Thursday night in Las Vegas at a function for team owner Gavin Maloof), you'll notice his left hand is in fact wrapped up.

The Kings will also be without Ron Artest for the first seven games due to suspension and rookie Spencer Hawes indefinitely due to knee surgery, so this is the last thing the team needed. Quincy Douby will get the first crack at replacing Bibby, but he's more of a scoring point guard than a guy who makes plays for others. That shouldn't be a problem early, though, as the Kings will need help putting points on the board while missing two of last year's top three scorers until Artest and Bibby return.

Bibby's injury also throws a wrench into our NBA Preview Predictions, as we already branded him one of the league's Most Likely to Be Traded. Does it change things? Not entirely, but it certainly postpones them, as it'll take at least 2-3 months before we know for sure that he's the same player he was before the injury.

Previously on FanHouse:
Meet Mike Bibby, the Black Larry David