NBA Injuries: The Good, The Bad, The Better?
Injuries are no fun. In a perfect world every player is at 100%, every game. Fans can plan to fly from Germany or China to watch Ja Morant and Kawhi Leonard on any given night. Everyone is happy.
And then you have reality. Most nights, someone in the NBA is going to be out. Whether its the star player, someone in the starting five, or the fan favorite, there will be that, “ahhhhh man”, moment.
So, how do different injuries impact teams? As I watched the Suns, Cavs game last night, https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401585562, I began to think, are all injuries bad? Some are quite impactful, others can even derail a team's season, but maybe some can be better for the team long term.
Most Impactful:
The two that stick out the most are Joel Embiid and Julius Randle. The 76ers are 26-8 with Embiid and 10-20 without him. The Knicks are 29-17 with Randle and 8-10 without him.
Obviously, Embiid who was on track to have a career year and most likely repeat as the league MVP has the largest impact. However, a guy like Randle moves the needle as well.
You need these guys to be healthy in order to maintain a winning record, stay afloat, and solidify a spot in the playoffs.
Middle of The Road:
Russell Westbrook. The Clippers don’t have a huge drop-off without Westbrook, going 38-20 with him and 3-2 without.
Although his production has been great this year and he’s been a spark off the bench, the Clippers can manage without him. Coffey’s production has gone up and guys like Brandon Boston are getting more playing time.
Kris Middleton. The Bucks would probably love to have him back in order to have another 20 ppg scorer and take some of the pressure off Dame and Giannis, but he doesn’t necessarily move the needle anymore. The Bucks can maintain without him until the playoffs. They don’t need him on the court.
Season Enders:
I would be remiss not to mention Ja Morant. Losing a guy like Morant totally wrecks the season. Its like the year Tom Brady went out with a broken leg. Everyone knew the year was over before it started.
Ball and Lavine are key as well. A few years back the Bulls were a competitive, playoff bound team and looking to build up. The Bulls are not a competitive playoff team without these two. Even though they can make the playoffs, my thoughts on that here, https://www.the-cmc-show.com/blog/nba-play-in-an-ode-to-the-nba-bubble.
Best for Long Term Success:
You never want to see anyone to get hurt, but even a negative can become a glass half full. The Cleveland Cavs went on an 18-2 tear with no Darius Garland. Now that Garland is back, Spida has been out recently with a knee injury.
I see this as the best thing for the Cleveland Cavs. Spida can always come back and be the man and has already shown he is the team leader. Now, the time Garland is getting to ‘lead’ the squad is perfect.
The Cavs will need two dominant ball handlers and closers if they're going to make a deep run in the East and compete with a team like Boston. Having Garland/Spida trade out time with an injury, taking turns leading the team, may be the silver lining for the Cavs season.
Honorable Mentions:
Bubble players were Karl Anthony Towns and Bradley Beal. For KAT, we haven’t seen enough play from the Timberwolves without him to judge. For Beal, I still don’t know what he is for the Suns. He could almost make it into the “Meh?” category.
Injuries suck. I want to see everyone healthy and balling, but it’s interesting to note the level of impact different players being out have on their teams. As for this year, Cleveland may have won the injury game.
Until next time.
