The NBA injury list will be a key factor in determining who comes away winning it all this season. The NBA player stats for some of the superstars around the league were impressive, and then injuries came in and took them out for the year.
NBA picks today do include them, and the NBA schedule was not kind to all the teams currently competing for the title.
Of course, NBA team stats were altered as a result, and that was totally expected. When the best of the best aren’t out there, things like that will happen. NBA playoffs injuries are the absolute worst, but they may happen sometimes.
Knicks vs Cavs
Among NBA playoffs 2023 predictions may be the Knicks upsetting the upstart Cavaliers and getting to the second round of the postseason.
NBA playoffs injuries got in their way in their last appearance when Mitchell Robinson was unable to play, and the team got destroyed in the paint by Atlanta. After being a #4 seed then, they are just below it at five now.
They have no NBA game today, but when the series kicks off this weekend, it is not clear if Julius Randle is going to be suiting up for them. As bad as he was in the 2021 postseason, he was the guy for this team in the regular season.
Randle and new addition Jalen Brunson will need to be heroes for them to have a chance. But the ankle issue kept #30 out the past couple of weeks, unfortunately.
As for the Cleveland side, they did get Jarrett Allen back into game shape in time. But Isaac Okoro has missed the last couple of weeks. He is the kingpin for their defense, leading the perimeter attack.
In the times he hasn’t been out there, the rotation has had to shift greatly. Their lack of depth outside of the wing position has been apparent, and they will need to stay healthy in order to get past New York.
West Play In
Three of the four teams in the play-in tournament in the Western Conference are dealing with injuries. The Oklahoma City Thunder are without Kenrich Williams, as well as #2 pick Chet Holmgren.
Chet didn’t appear in a single game this year but is somebody they expect to have a major impact on success in a year. The team’s record was anything but impressive, but they did enough to get here after being projected to win 17.
NBA odds today may not be so favorable to Minnesota after their star defender Jaden McDaniels broke his hand by punching a wall in frustration.
NBA playoffs injuries don’t get any worse than that. Rudy Gobert also punched Kyle Anderson on the bench and got sent home. He’s not physically injured, but his status is uncertain.
As for the Pelicans, they are without last year’s postseason hero Jose Alvarado for the time being and probably will not get Zion Williamson back. It’s been brutal after he took all of last season trying to get well, only to come back and only appear in 29 contests, with zero after January 2nd.
The Lakers have their core players intact after Mo Bamba and LeBron James returned within the past week. They have all the pieces they need to try and make a run in an open conference.
Some Other Teams
It is considered minor to many, but the Sacramento Kings are without #3 point guard Matthew Dellavedova after he hurt his hand a few weeks ago.
The Warriors will get Andrew Wiggins back after he was away from the team for personal reasons for over two months. His return should help make their defense extremely formidable at this point.
The Bucks might open their quest for a title with Grayson Allen sidelined while Khris Middleton cannot stay out of harm’s way. He should be back at some point in round one. As for the Celtics, they are finally at full strength (sans Danilo Gallinari) and should be a tough out for any team that they square off with.
The Clippers are probably without Paul George to open round one.
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