Steven Adams in Concussion Protocol, out vs. Knicks

Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams will miss Saturday's game against the New York Knicks after being placed in the concussion protocol. 

Per ESPN's Royce Young, Adams was injured after taking an elbow to the face during the first overtime against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. 

Adams has long been considered one of the Thunder's most durable players, appearing in 160 of 164 games combined during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. 

However, the start of the 2017-18 campaign wasn't quite as kind to the New Zealander after a calf contusion sidelined him for three games in November.  

When healthy, Adams has been the heartbeat of Oklahoma City's defense while operating as an expert pick-and-roll partner with Russell Westbrook on the other end. 

To this point in the season, Adams is averaging a career-high 13.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and is shooting 63.5 percent from the field. 

With the big man sidelined again, it will be on 2015 second-round pick Dakari Johnson to cover in the middle. It also wouldn't be surprising to see the bouncy Jerami Grant operate at the 5 in small-ball alignments.