Per ESPN.com's Royce Young, Serge Ibaka may undergo an operation to alleviate knee soreness.
The news comes at a very unfortunate and fragile time for the Thunder. Oklahoma City maintains a one game lead over the New Orleans Pelicans for the eighth and final playoff spot, and one has to wonder if this season is just inevitably doomed. Before missing Friday's game against the Timberwolves and Sunday's game against the Bulls, Ibaka had been the Thunder's lone staple in the starting lineup.
Now, Scott Brooks will have to make another decision. Against Chicago, he went with Steven Adams and Enes Kanter but the question remains who he will continue to go with. It may not be ideal to have Kanter or Adams guarding someone like Dirk Nowitzki, so will Brooks go with Nick Collison in favor of Adams?
But the big question is how this affects the Thunder long-term. According to the report, the operation doesn't seem too serious, but nonetheless it is an operation. At this point, having any level of continuity if the Thunder does make the playoffs is just completely out the door. The report from Young indicates that the Thunder fully expects Ibaka to be back for the post season, and Ibaka, last post-season, even came back unexpectedly to play on a torn calf muscle. What is certain is that Russell Westbrook's load just got a little heavier, but at least the Thunder grabbed Kanter at the deadline. Without him, the season would be in greater jeopardy than it already is.