Philadelphia 76ers guard Lou Williams has a strained right hamstring, which means "he will be out for the foreseeable future," the team announced Sunday afternoon. It's a big blow for playoff-bound Philadelphia, as it routinely counts on Williams to provide scoring from both guard spots off the bench. On the season, Williams ranks fourth on the team in scoring (13.7 points per game) despite playing less than half of a game on average.
Liberty Ballers, SB Nation's Sixers blog, wonders if Williams' injury means Philadelphia should call on Evan Turner to fill the void. Turner, the second overall pick in last June's NBA Draft, has disappointed in his rookie campaign, averaging just 6.9 points per game and shooting 42.1 percent.
The fact that the Sixers will call up NBA veteran Antonio Daniels from the NBA D-League indicates the level of trust they have in Turner. Daniels, who turned 36 last month, hasn't appeared in an NBA game since April 29th, 2009.
Originally a lottery pick by the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1997, a few months before Turner's ninth birthday, the 6-foot-4 Daniels owns career averages of 7.6 points and 3.4 assists. In 38 games for the D-League's Texas Legends this season, Daniels posted per-game averages of 14.5 points and 8.6 assists.