As cliché as it is to admit it: injuries are a part of the game. Like it or not, injuries can, and usually do, have a big impact on the NBA regular season.
The 2008-09 season is no exception.
After getting off to a somewhat quiet start to the season around the league, the injury bug has bitten and bitten hard recently.
Now, with the teams in the playoff races in each conference still very bunched together, losing a star player for a long period of time could be very costly when jockeying for playoff position, or fighting for a playoff spot altogether.
This week's Starting Five consists of players that aren't starting at all. It's a look around the league at some of the most recent injuries in the NBA and the impact that each one might have on the 2009 NBA playoffs.
Starting Five
1. Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz
Carlos Boozer's knee injury is far from recent (he hasn't played since November 19th), but the surgery on said knee is, so we'll start with him.
Boozer reportedly underwent surgery this week to remove loose pieces of cartilage from his left knee. He is expected to miss at least four weeks, at which time he will be re-evaluated.
Call it premature if you'd like, but I'm going to go ahead and predict that Carlos Boozer will never play another game for the Utah Jazz.
The return date for Boozer had already been pushed back several times before this biggest and most recent setback, so he's about as likely to make a best-case-scenario return as he is to turn down the highest bidder this summer.
And with Paul Millsap performing at an extremely high level in Boozer's absence, the Jazz will be in no hurry to bring Boozer back and cut Millsap's minutes, especially if they view Millsap as the power forward of the future.
Still, if the Jazz want to have any chance at competing for the Western Conference crown, they are going to need Carlos Boozer to play and play at 100%. Even with Millsap filling in great, averaging 18 points and 11.5 rebounds in his 21 starts, the Jazz are just 22-15, good for eighth best out West, percentage points ahead of Dallas for the final playoff spot.
The Jazz have found a reliable replacement if need be, but they cannot replace the depth Boozer brings to their frontcourt, and it may ultimately lead to their downfall.
2. Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo missed the last two games for the Nuggets this week after breaking a bone in his right hand during the Nuggets' 135-115 victory over the Pacers on Monday night. The injury does not require surgery, but is expected to keep Anthony out of the lineup for a total of three to four weeks.
The injury couldn't have come at a worse time for the Nuggets, who are going through hands down the toughest part of their schedule.
If Anthony were to miss exactly a month, he would miss the next 13 games. The Nuggets play teams with a winning record in nine of those 13 games.
The Nuggets hold a two-game lead over Portland in the Northwest division, but have just a two and a half game cushion on Dallas, who currently sits in ninth place in the West.
The Nuggets and their slim lead cannot afford to drop many games with Carmelo out of the lineup because the schedule isn't any kinder once he comes back. Coinciding with Anthony's return: the start of an eight-game road trip for Denver, their longest of the season.
3. Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest
I admit, by now writing about an injured T-Mac in January is hardly groundbreaking stuff. But it wouldn't be an injury-related Starting Five without Houston Rockets.
I was wrong about two things in what I wrote about the Rockets in various parts of my season preview: they won't win 58 games; they won't get 50 games with Yao, T-Mac, and Artest together.
As we get close to the halfway point of the season, the Rockets find themselves on pace to win exactly 50 games, and through 39 team games, the Rockets' Big Three have played together just 22 times, leaving them on pace to play 46 games together.
Both Artest and McGrady said over the weekend that shutting it down for a few weeks is now a real possibility, and the immediate future for the Houston Rockets looks pretty bleak.
With visits from the Lakers, Heat, Nuggets, and Jazz on the horizon this week, followed up by a dangerous trip out east that consists of a stop at Conseco to visit the giant-killing Indiana Pacers, the suddenly red-hot Detroit Pistons, and ending with a back-to-back against the run-and-gun Knicks, the Rockets find themselves in the same couldn't-have-picked-a-worse-time-to-get-hurt boat as the Nuggets.
Throw in the fact that Yao hasn't has his annual injury yet and the Rockets sure look to me like more of a team that's one game in the standings away from being out of the playoffs than a team that's one game away from home court advantage in the first round.
It's all in the eye of the beholder I guess, but I'll never be a glass half-full guy when it comes to the always disappointing Rockets.
4. Devin Harris and Yi Jianlian, New Jersey Nets
While the injury setbacks to the Jazz, Nuggets, and Rockets may affect their seeding come playoff time out West, the loss of Harris and Yi for the Nets might cost them a chance at making the playoffs entirely.
The Nets' surprising 18-19 start has them positioned in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings right now, but trying to replace 33% of the team's scoring over the next few weeks could be a daunting task, one that an already below .500 team usually doesn't overcome.
While Harris has only missed the last two games and is listed as day-to-day with a hamstring injury, Yi is expected to miss three to four weeks with a broken hand.
Though hovering near .500 is always good enough to keep a team in playoff contention in the east, a team that has to overachieve just to get to that point certainly cannot afford to lose two starters at the same time.
It's surprising to say the least that the Nets are even in this position this late in the season, but it'd be even more surprising if they can continue to keep pace with the other low-level playoff teams in the East if they cannot get healthy in a hurry.
5. Elton Brand, Philadelphia 76ers
The loss of Brand has had an interesting impact on the 76ers. Brand hasn't played since December 17th, and is still about three weeks away from rejoining the lineup, but the Sixers are actually playing much better with Brand out.
Philly is 10-13 in the 23 games that Brand has played this season and 7-7 in the 14 when he doesn't play.
And, after dropping, four of their first five games after Brand's shoulder injury, the Sixers are currently on a four-game winning streak, their longest of the season.
The Sixers may have finally hit their stride and they've pulled into a tie for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. The big question in Philly is whether or not they'll be able to build on their recent success once Brand returns, or will it be back to the drawing board as they find a way to win with their new $82 million investment on the floor.
In the Rotation
Cleveland Cavaliers
You could easily have added Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the list of major injuries around the league (out up to a month with a chipped bone in his ankle), but as long as the Cavs have a healthy LeBron James, nothing can derail this team.
King James showed once again this week why he has taken the title of "Best Player in the World" from Kobe Bryant this season with his downright dominant performance Friday night against the Celtics.
As hard as it is to believe, LeBron's 38 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks in the game doesn't even begin to tell the story of how dominant he was. It wasn't just the gaudy numbers, it was how he amassed them that sent a message to not only the Boston Celtics, but the entire league.
The win temporarily gave Cleveland the best record in the NBA, but the Cavs since have been passed by the Lakers who moved percentage points ahead of them with their win on Sunday.
Nonetheless, the Cavs' dominant victory put them 19-0 at home (in the Q!) and in the driver seat for home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. A scary combination for anyone with any real NBA title aspirations.
Out of the Rotation
Atlanta Hawks
The Mike Woodson era is rapidly coming to an end in Atlanta.
The Hawks had a chance to cement themselves as an up-and-coming contender in the Eastern Conference this week with a home-and-home series against the first place Orlando Magic.
Instead, the Hawks took a giant step backwards.
Their disaster of a week started Wednesday with a 106-102 loss at home to the Magic, but the final score isn't a true indication of how badly they were beaten. The Magic led by 16 at halftime, pushed it to as high as 21, and the lead was as big as 19 in the fourth quarter. A too-little-too-late charge for the Hawks was not enough to erase the fact they were blown out in the first three quarters.
Then came the debacle on Friday night, in which the Hawks trailed by as much as 50 at one point in Orlando before the Magic mercifully called off the dogs and coasted to a 121-87 victory.
As if being embarrassed twice by the same team wasn't destructive enough for the Hawks, they followed it up with a very unimpressive 15-point loss at home to the 76ers on Sunday.
With four of their next five games on the road (the Hawks are 7-10 away from home this season), one more blowout loss and the Hawks will, and probably rightfully so, be returning home with someone else as their head coach.
Inactive List
Portland Trail Blazers Team President Larry Miller
Here is the story: Portland was able to get out of the remaining two years and $18 million dollars left on Darius Miles' contract under the condition that Miles was "disabled" (the league's term, not mine) and unable to ever play again. If Miles plays 10 games this season, he will be taken off the NBA's "disabled list" and his contract will count against the Blazers salary cap next season and push them over the luxury tax threshold this season.
Miles played six preseason games with the Celtics and was released. He signed with the Grizzlies, played in two games this week, and was released. He was then re-signed by the Grizzlies to a 10-day contract.
If Miles plays in just two more games this season, it will raise his total to 10, meaning his contract becomes guaranteed and the Blazers will take a significant financial hit.
The possibility of a significant financial hit was too much to bear for trail Blazers President Larry Miller, and he sent a threatening e-mail to each team this week warning of a possible lawsuit if a team signs Miles.
The full text of the e-mail reads:
"Team Presidents and General Managers,"Please be aware that if a team engages in such conduct, the Portland Trail Blazers will take all necessary steps to safeguard its rights, including, without limitation, litigation."
"The Portland Trail Blazers are aware that certain teams may be contemplating signing Darius Miles to a contract for the purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers Salary Cap and tax positions. Such conduct from a team would violate its fiduciary duty as an NBA joint venturer. In addition, persons or entities involved in such conduct may be individually liable to the Portland Trail Blazers for tortuously interfering with the Portland Trail Blazers' contract rights and perspective economic opportunities.
Before we get into how ridiculous it is to try and stop a team from trying to sign an apparently healthy and capable NBA veteran, let's take a look back at some of the ridiculous transactions that have occurred in the past year around the NBA:
- The Lakers traded then-Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Aaron McKie to Memphis as a part of the Paul Gasol deal.
- The Mavericks traded Keith Van Horn, who hadn't played in over 20 months, but whose rights were still owned by the Mavericks, to New Jersey as part of the Jason Kidd deal. Van Horn had as much of a chance of playing for the Nets as you or I had.
- The Nuggets gave Marcus Camby away to the Clippers in an egregious salary dump for the option to swap second-round picks.
- The Knicks agreed to take on Cuttino Mobely from the Clippers in the Zach Randolph deal, despite the fact that they knew he was going to have to retire due to a potentially fatal heart condition.
All of those morally questionable transactions were just fine with the Blazers, but how dare an NBA team give a one-time promising NBA prospect a second chance after a devastating knee injury?
Instead of threatening to sue, Larry Miller should have just accepted the fact that he and his front office screwed up big time by giving Miles a ridiculous six-year, $48 million contract in the first place.
Instead, Miller managed to come off as a selfish and heartless poor sport and will get his comeuppance later this week when Miles plays his 10th game and the Blazers, like just about every other team in the league, will be stuck with a terrible contract on their books.
Look on the bright side, Larry: there's always the possibility that you could trade Miles for an assistant coach sometime down the road.
Be sure to check back at Sports Central every Monday to see who cracks Scott Shepherd's rotation as he breaks down what is going on around the NBA.
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