Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller suffered a fractured left hand in Wednesday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team said.
He was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game, but it is too soon to tell how much time Zeller will miss, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Cody is obviously going to miss some time and we need other guys to step up,” Hornets coach James Boorego said.
Zeller had six points, three rebounds and three steals in 19 minutes.
The Hornets missed him Wednesday. Cleveland used a 41-point second quarter to cruise to a 121-114 victory in the season opener for both teams.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Charlotte is among a small quantity of clubs with an open roster spot still available, so a free-agent signing is possible.
The injury stole some of the spotlight from the debut of Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, who called his opener “disappointing.” The hyped Hornets rookie guard didn’t score in his first game. Ball missed all five shots and didn’t play in the fourth quarter.
“I was just having an off night,” Ball said.
Ball will make his home debut Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.