We Need a Medic! NBA Injuries in the Playoffs
Has anybody else realized that nearly every team in the NBA has some sort of injury right now?
Forget about all of the injuries this postseason, I mean throughout the entire year. Indiana lost their superstar, Paul George, before the season even began and at one point the Thunder didn't have either Westbrook or Durant. Sprinkle in Brandon Jennings killing the Detroit Pistons' hopes, Wesley Matthews killing any chance of a Blazers championship run and Jabari Parker taking the air out of a Bucks run and you can't help but wonder what would have been in the playoffs.
Right now, there are four teams remaining (Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers) and three of them are trying to patch together some sort of a lineup and advance to the next round.
The Rockets lost their defensive minded point guard, Patrick Beverly, before the playoffs began and Dwight Howard's knee hasn't been right recently.
The Hawks lost Thabo Sefolosha before the playoffs and Demarre Carrol will be limited for the rest of the series with a gruesome looking injury.
However, none of those teams compare to the MASH unit of the Cavaliers. Two of the other three superstars on the Cavaliers (Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love) are either severely limited or out for the season.
The only team that has emerged relatively healthy is the Golden State Warriors. Yes, Maurice Speights has a right calf injury but that's a minor injury at best. It's like saying your shiny new car has a broken taillight. Yes, you see it but all of the other teams remaining are dealing with so much more. If the Warriors have a broken taillight then the Cavaliers have a leaking gas tank with a flat tire that's on fire as LeBron does all he can to make sure the team continues to advance.
We saw John Wall break his hand, we saw Chris Paul hurt his hamstring, we saw Chandler Parsons hurt his knee and Jae Crowder tear his knee after getting hit in the face by J.R. Smith. Will more people get injured in the playoffs? Probably, but as long as LeBron and Steph Curry stay healthy I doubt anyone will care. If those two remain, the NBA still wins.
