Re: abdominal strains/tear (remember a strain is a partial tear, Grade III strain is a complete tear): "Moderate strains typically take two to three months to heal and severe strains can take several months of rehabilitation." Injuries to core muscles are never something to mess with. So best case he's back by Feb. Worst case into March/the entire season. Hopefully we have some good results from the MRI.
From a basketball standpoint, this is troublesome because the entire offense revolved around him. Obviously the entire playbook needs to be retooled, and long-term I don't think that's a bad thing. Short term, it will be troublesome. Akok is really the guy that needs to step up, and then ideally one of Springs/Sampson. There is no way around it. Someone has to step up down low.