Bay Area head coach Brian Goorjian admitted that the team took a huge blow when Myles Powell went down with the ankle injury in practice but nonetheless was glad at how the rest of the Dragons alleviated the absence of the prolific import.
Goorjian said the team tried to work Powell back after spraining his ankle three days ago but the injury was pretty much severe, forcing Bay Area to tap the services of its another import Andrew Nicholson
“He went down in practice about three days ago. Pretty severe foot injury. We tried to settle it. Still painful. He had an MRI yesterday and the MRI wasn't good for today so we're gonna keep monitoring his progress and we're gonna keep working the rehab and see where it takes us,” said Goorjian after his team made quick work of Rain or Shine in the quarterfinals with a 126-96 victory.
The Dragons hardly felt the absence of Powell with Nicholson back in tow and with guards Glen Yang and Hayden Blankley stepping it up.
Blankley even shot the lights out and drilled 10 triples to finish with 47 points while Yang added 13 points and six assists to provide support to Nicholson who finished with 32 points in return.
“Hayden, Glen, all those guys really stepped up from where they were prior. And Nicholson has been training with this on a full time basis so there is an adjustment but the guys know him and he's not somebody we just brought in in the last three days,” added Goorjian.
Still, Powell’s absence was a kick in the guts for the team especially with how much the high-scoring import and the rest of the Dragons looked forward and prepared for the playoffs after topping the eliminations with a 10-2 record.
“He was really really devastated because he was so excited as you all know to be a part of this playoffs and play in front of these fans and against this competition so it was really a kick in the guts but we don't know at this stage how long it's gonna be, it's day by day,” added Goorjian.