It’s been a month since Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller had surgery in Los Angeles to repair a torn medial meniscus in his left knee.
He is right on schedule with what his surgeon projected as a timeline for recovery. But Zeller is still weeks away from being ready to practice, and then to play. By the time he is cleared for games, the Hornets’ playoff pursuit could well be over.
Zeller, in his fifth NBA season, was replaced as the starting center with the June trade for future Hall-of-Famer Dwight Howard. Zeller embraced the idea of playing with the second unit, a major weakness for the Hornets last season.