"The Stack" 1-18-17

Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul is going to be out 6-8 weeks after he undergoes surgery today to repair a torn ligament in his thumb. The injury was suffered Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Stack is back on this Wednesday with a few basketball headlines to talk about.  Wait, did I type that right?  Did you read that right?  Yes, basketball.  Both professional and college so let’s get right to our short blog post today and find out what is in “the stack” for today, Wednesday, January 18th:

 

Roy Williams reaches win 800

 

We start with the news from Monday. UNC head coach Roy Williams won his 800th career game with an 85-68 win over Syracuse.  Williams has always been a class act and you could tell in the postgame celebration just how much it mean to him and also how uncomfortable he was with the attention on him.  He had a great run at Kansas before returning to his home state of North Carolina to coach the Tar Heels.  Great coach.  Even better person.  Congrats coach Williams.

 

Warriors wallop Cavaliers

 

Also on MLK Jr. Day, the Golden State Warriors laid an absolute beatdown on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second and last matchup of the season (at least until the NBA Finals) between the two teams.  The Warriors won 126-91 in a game that wasn’t even close after the first quarter.  Draymond Green was up to no good with a  flagrant foul on LeBron James, but at least there were no kicks to the ding-ding.  The Warriors offense was unreal in the first half including the final play where they sprinted after a loose ball and got it to Steph Curry who drained the three-pointer.  Their passing was crisp.  Everything they shot it seemed like was falling.  This was a bad loss for the Cavaliers who had made it appear were coming into Monday’s game ready to go for the season sweep knowing what kind of message it could send and how much momentum it could give them.  Instead, the two teams sweep and now it really doesn’t mean much and won’t mean much when the NBA Finals roll around.

 

Chris Paul out 6-8 weeks

 

Chris Paul has had troubles staying healthy during his career and yet another injury has plagued him.  Paul sprained his thumb in Monday’s game against Oklahoma City and while x-rays were negative they did an MRI on Tuesday and the MRI revealed a torn ligament in his thumb.  Paul will undergo surgery today to repair that torn ligament and will miss 6-8 weeks.  That is a tough pill to swallow for the Clippers.  They will likely be fine and are not in danger of missing the playoffs, but their season just got more challenging.  Paul is a tremendous guard in the league and this injury leaves him and the Clippers wondering when they can catch a break.  It doesn’t seem like they can.

 

College basketball injury news

 

Creighton has been a tremendous story so far this year.  They are a great team and certainly a threat come March.  Their season has gotten significantly more difficult though now following the injury to the nation’s assist leader.  Guard Maurice Watson Jr. tore his ACL Monday against Xavier.  An MRI confirmed that on Tuesday.  It’s a big loss for Creighton.  We’ll see what they can do from here, but right now it is a big blow to their hopes this season.

 

Louisville guard Quentin Snider is going to miss 2-3 weeks with a hip injury.  He leads the team in assists and is the second highest scorer on the team.  He strained a hip flexor in Saturday’s game against Duke.  Louisville is going to be just fine in terms of them making the tournament.  These next few weeks though could be a little difficult especially with a game at Florida State this Saturday.

 

Scary site in Oxford, Mississippi, Tuesday night when Ole Miss guard Rasheed Brooks collapsed in front of the team bench shortly after halftime and was taken to the hospital.  He has a history of seizures and that may have been what happened here.  Hopefully he is back on the court soon. 

 

49ers narrowing in on Kyle Shanahan

 

One piece of NFL news to attend to and that is that the San Francisco 49ers have honed in on Atlanta Falcons offense coordinator Kyle Shanahan for their head coaching position and are willing to wait as long as it takes according to reports.  They would have to wait a while should the Falcons take down Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in the NFC Championship game which would mean the Falcons would be going to the Super Bowl in Houston.  That’s no small task taking down the Packers, but neither is taking the 49ers job.  They are a mess and still don’t have a new GM.  There is a lot of talent that needs to be assembled with this team, but based on the offensive results Shanahan has been able to put up in Atlanta this year, I wouldn’t doubt that he can do it in San Francisco given some time.  What this hire would mean is that the New England Patriots get to keep both of their coordinators, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, for another season.  At some point those two are going to get head coaching jobs.  Oh well.  They won’t complain and neither will the Patriots.

 

Coming up later this week: NFC & AFC Championship game previews


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