What The NBA Has Lost Due To Injuries

With 26 games left in the season, it seems like the Portland Trail Blazers are as close to full strength as they have been all year.

The big man in the middle, Robin Lopez is back after missing 23 games, and he has changed the team’s defensive mindset. LaMarcus Aldridge decided to tough out a left thumb injury and play the rest of the season despite the recommendation of surgery, and Aldridge’s play has always been an anchor for the Blazers. Now with the impending return of Joel Freeland, this team will have its full roster available for game action since the middle of December.

Portland has seen its fair share of injuries throughout the years, and this year has been no different. As difficult it has been to watch the Blazers ups and downs due to injuries, the rest of the Association has been even more devastated.

As we hit the home stretch of this regular season I thought I would dive into just how much the NBA has lost due to injuries this season.

• A competitive Eastern Conference – Contrary to popular belief, I think that the Eastern Conference was going to be almost as competitive and fun to watch these last couple months of the season. But, due to injuries, the only conference everyone will talk about is the West. The Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the top contenders in the East, followed by the Toronto Raptors and the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls, however, were dealt another injury blow this week as Derrick Rose was diagnosed with a torn meniscus. That will hinder their drive for a berth in The Finals.

Meanwhile in Milwaukee, one of the surprise teams in the league this year are the Bucks. With some of their young players stepping up and a culture shift under Coach Jason Kidd, the Bucks find themselves a half game back from the 5^th seed in the East. All of this without the 2^nd pick of the 2014 draft, Jabari Parker, who went down with a torn ACL on December 15^th.

The Miami Heat, a team that has found themselves in The Finals for four straight years, made a big push at the trade deadline to bring in point guard Goran Dragic. He was the final piece of a very talented starting lineup that consisted of Dragic, Dwayne Wade, Luol Deng, Chris Bosh and breakout sensation Hassan Whiteside. The Heat were subsequently dealt with an incredibly unfortunate bit of news when Chris Bosh was hospitalized and diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung. As scary as the situation was, Bosh will make a full recovery but will not see action on an NBA court until next season.

• A Rookie of the Year Battle for the ages – When Parker went down with a torn ACL in December, the NBA could have handed the Rookie of the Year trophy to top-pick Andrew Wiggins. With all of the suspense leading up to the draft about whether the Cavaliers would select Parker of Wiggins, the league was equally as excited to see the two battle throughout the season to see who would be crowned as the best of the rookies.

In 25 games, Parker averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Through 56 games, Wiggins is averaging 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1 steal per game.

The ROY would have been a two man race this year and it would have been a fun one to watch. Instead, Wiggins can walk to the finish line and collect his hardware.

• Another year of Kobe Bryant – Whether you love him, or hate you, you have to realize that Bryant is basketball royalty. Bryant was only on the court for the Lakers 6 games last season, and 35 total games this season… 41 games in two seasons. The guy that has averaged 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game over his 19 year career is one of the toughest to ever play the game. Inevitably though, father time always catches up, even with some of the best athletes of all time. Bryant is a competitor and will be back for at least one more year in the gold and purple, but the main question is, will Kobe be Kobe after this most recent injuries?

• The Absence of the MVP – Kevin Durant had never missed more than 8 games in a season leading into this season. Last year’s Most Valuable Player has played only 27 games this season, missing 31 games. The foot injury that Durant suffered has come back to bite him again and he is sitting out after a second minor operation to fixed irritation with the surgically placed screw.

As fun as the Thunder have been to watch the past few years, this team may have been even more fun to watch this year. Russell Westbrook is hitting his prime, was named MVP of the All-Star game, and finds himself in MVP conversations along with LeBron James, Steph Curry, and James Harden. A healthy Durant and Westbrook is unlike no other duo in the league. That is why the Western Conference is losing sleep thinking about meeting this team in the playoffs.

• A Change in Attitude Towards USA Basketball – This may not be something directly related to the NBA season but the injury that Paul George endured over the summer in a USA Basketball is likely to change national team basketball for years to come. Thankfully, George is back to practice and nearing a return to action for the Indianapolis Pacers, but Team USA is going to have a hard time attracting the superstars in the league to risk their long-term health by playing in exhibition and Olympic basketball. I could be totally off-base, but I think that when Durant pulled out of the World Cup team soon after George broke his leg, that was a sign of things to come.

As fun as this season has been, it is hard not to think of what could have been. Entering the fourth quarter of the NBA season, it is more apparent than ever that whoever stays healthy down the stretch has a chance to make noise in the playoffs.

Here in Portland, and elsewhere in the league, staying healthy down the stretch is incredibly important. Being healthy when the first round comes around will be more important than seeding or home court advantage.