Andrea Bargnani Undergoes Emergency Appendectomy

Andrea Bargnani was hospitalized early this morning and will miss a good chunk -- if not all -- of the rest of the season following an emergency appendectomy. From the Toronto Star:

There is no official word on how long Bargnani will be sidelined. Bargnani is expected to be released from hospital in the next few days. Recovery from an appendectomy can generally take between three weeks and a month; the NBA regular season ends April 18.

Ordinarily you might think losing a key player would doom the Raptors, but this is a team that played well in Chris Bosh's absence earlier in the year and is currently nursing a 5.5 game lead over the Nets in the Atlantic Division. The Nets have lost seven of their last 10, with their only wins coming against the likes of the Grizzlies, Hornets and Clippers, which doesn't suggest they're prepared to make a real push for a division title.

But still, it's unfortunate timing to say the least that the Raptors will head into the playoffs with such an important player just getting back from injury. Bargnani has averaged 11.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 25 minutes a game this year, but he's gotten better as the season has progressed, averaging 14.4 points with 4.4 boards in 29.1 minutes the last two months.

Bargnani's absence should mean more minutes for Kris Humphries, but he doesn't have a shred of Bargnani's long-distance range. If he can stand the extra minutes, the team might be better off giving starter Jorge Garbajosa a few extra minutes and boosting Morris Peterson playing time off the bench.