Darren Collison to have arthroscopic knee surgery, out 2-3 weeks

Darren Collison will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and miss two-to-three weeks of action.

Indiana Pacers starting point guard Darren Collison will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and miss the next two-to-three weeks, the Pacers announced Monday.

Collison bumped his knee in Indiana’s last game against Philadelphia, leading to soreness and the eventual decision to have surgery, according to Fox Sports Indiana’s Pat Boylan.

In Monday’s game against Washington, Collison’s starting role will be assumed by Cory Joseph. He will start next to Lance Stephenson, who will be replacing Victor Oladipo (illness).

It is unclear whether Joseph will continue to start, as head coach Nate McMillan opted to start Joe Young in Collison’s last absence on Jan. 24–allowing the second unit to remain unchanged.

Collison’s absence will undoubtedly have an impact on Indiana. The eight-year vet has been steady this season, averaging 12.8 points and 5.3 assists per game along with elite shooting splits of .495/.432/.897.

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Those numbers, along with a non-guarantee on his deal for next season, has made Collison a trade target for teams leading up to Thursday’s deadline. This surgery will probably scare away those interested, or at least lower Collison’s value significantly.

Joseph, who is shooting a career-high 37 percent on 2.4 attempts from three this season and a better defender than Collison, should serve as a worthy fill-in for the time being. In 125 possessions this season, the Joseph-Oladipo-Bojan Bogdanovic-Thaddeus Young-Myles Turner lineup has posted a point differential of +11.3 (via Cleaning The Glass).

Joe Young has yet to play with Turner as a starter, as Turner was hurt in Young’s one start. With Domantas Sabonis in Turner’s place, that starting unit posted a point differential of +76.7 in the very small sample size of 30 possessions (the differential is adjusted to a pace of per 100 possessions).

Next: It’s a balancing act for the Indiana Pacers

Indiana has five games remaining before the All-Star Break and return to action on Feb. 23 after the nine-day break.