Another injury setback to 'snake-bit' Duke basketball product

When the New York Knicks (1-0 preseason) host the Indiana Pacers (1-0) at 7:00 p.m. ET Friday in the second of their four scheduled preseason games, one of their three former Duke basketball one-and-dones, Cam Reddish, will likely be in street clothes.

RJ Barrett, a centerpiece, and Trevor Keels, a two-way player, are the other two Blue Devils on New York's preseason roster.

The Knicks list Reddish as "day-to-day" and "questionable" against the Pacers while he recovers from yet another untimely injury, this time at the hands — no, perhaps "feet" is the better word here — of a referee.

On Wednesday, Stefan Bondy of the Daily News summed up the unfortunate timing of Reddish's setback:

"It just feels like Reddish's tenure here is snake-bit. He got a greater opportunity Tuesday with the reserves because of Quentin Grimes' foot injury, but Reddish lasted only 11 minutes before spraining his ankle on a fluke play near the sideline. It appeared Reddish tripped over the referee."

He finished with three points, one rebound, one block, one steal, and one turnover after shooting 1-for-6 from the field.

As Bondy explained, the 23-year-old Duke basketball product's bad luck as a Knick dates back to the homestretch of the 2021-22 campaign, two months after his arrival in New York via his trade from the Atlanta Hawks, just as he was becoming a mainstay in the rotation:

"Reddish was probably due for more minutes toward the end of last season when the Knicks lost their motivation for a playoff push, but the former lottery pick broke his shoulder. A sprained ankle obviously isn't debilitating but there's no spot in the rotation for Reddish if the other wings are healthy."

Cam Reddish has averaged 10.5 points across his three-year career but has yet to appear in 60 games or more in any season.

On a brighter note, though, Bondy tweeted Thursday afternoon that the "Knicks are encouraged that swelling in Cam Reddish's sprained ankle is limited."

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