Foot News

Posted by Tom Carpenter, Special to ESPN.com

It's never a good sign when a player pulls up lame for no apparent reason. You could tell right away when Danny Granger started hopping on his left foot during Saturday's game that the injury to his right foot could be serious. That was confirmed Tuesday when an MRI revealed a torn plantar fascia in his right foot, which will keep him sidelined the next four to six weeks.

After missing just six games during his first three seasons, Granger missed 15 games with a sore foot and knee last season -- and now this. It's pretty clear his body isn't holding up to the workload of 36 minutes and close to 19 shots per night. Plantar fascia injuries tend to linger, too, so there's no certainty we'll see Granger close to full speed for many months.

Mike Dunleavy would be the clear-cut beneficiary in Granger's absence, but he's working his way back from his own long-term injury and is supposed have the governor set at 20 minutes per night. Still, the Indiana Pacers may have no choice but to unleash Dunleavy in the next month if they want to make the playoffs, though they'd risk not having him available in April by doing so.

Obviously, there are plenty of shots available for other Pacers, but so far this season guys like T.J. Ford, Earl Watson and Brandon Rush have failed to capitalize. Watson's capable of contributing dimes in deep leagues, even as a reserve. Starting point guard Ford has a great opportunity to bust out, but he's shown little reason to believe he'll actually do so. Rush can drop the trey, but he'll have to play at both ends of the court to satisfy his coach. We could also see a little more run from Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough in the frontcourt.

Until they step up, though, look for Troy Murphy and Dahntay Jones to shoulder most of the scoring burden for the Pacers.