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NBA Injuries
| NAME | TEAM | INJURY | TIMETABLE TO RETURN | ANALYSIS |
| Kawhi Leonard | SAS | Quad | 3-4 Weeks | New reports say that Leonard is going to resume practicing with the Spurs and is eyeing a return in March. Remember, he's been medically cleared. |
| Gordon Hayward | BOS | Ankle/Tibia | No Timetable | Hayward can shoot stand-still jumpers and wants to return this season. Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart pick up shots and minutes. |
| Jimmy Butler | MIN | Knee | No Timetable | Butler had surgery will need to miss at least four to six weeks and Nemanja Bjelica picks up minutes and Andrew Wiggins usage will go up. |
| Kristaps Porzingis | NY | Torn ACL | OUT FOR THE SEASON | With Porzingis done, Kyle O'Quinn and Michael Beasley will play more moving forward. |
| Dwight Howard | CHA | Ribs | DAY TO DAY | Howard played through a Rib injury Tuesday and could be held out of Wednesday's game. Cody Zeller (if healthy) and Frank Kaminsky will pick up minutes if he can't go. |
| DeMarcus Cousins | NO | Achilles | OUT FOR THE SEASON | Cousins will not return for the remainder of the season and Emeka Okafor will play a good amount of minutes filling in along with Cheick Diallo. |
| Mike Conley | MEM | Achilles | OUT FOR THE SEASON | Conley is having surgery and won't return to the court this season. Andrew Harrison and Mario Chalmers will fill-in. |
| John Wall | WSH | Knee | 3-5 Weeks | Wall is looking like he's feeling better but still has a way's to go Tomas Satoransky and Tim Frazier will pick up minutes. |
| Kevin Love | CLE | Hand | 3-5 Weeks | With Kevin Love out for awhile Jeff Green, Larry Nance Jr. and Tristan Thompson will fill in. |
| Patrick Beverley | LAC | Knee | OUT FOR THE SEASON | Beverley had surgery will miss the rest of the season. Austin Rivers, Lou Williams and Milos Teodosic pick up minutes. |
| Markelle Fultz | PHI | Shoulder | No Timetable | After it seemed like he was on his way back, Fultz could miss the rest of the Sixers regular season. T.J. McConnell and Jerryd Bayless will fill in. |
| Clint Capela | HOU | Illness | DAY TO DAY | Capela is sick and if he can't play Wednesday night, Nene' will pick up playing time. |
| Reggie Jackson | DET | Ankle | 2-4 Weeks | Jackson has been cleared to run lightly, but will still a few more weeks to recover. Ish Smith and Jameer Nelson will continue to grab minutes. |
| Aaron Gordon | ORL | Hip | DAY TO DAY | Gordon's Hip is sore and he may need to miss Wednesday's game. He's currently questionable. Mario Hezonja will pick up minutes if he can't go. |
| Tyreke Evans | MEM | Ribs | DAY TO DAY | Despite the MRI showing that he has a tear, the Grizzlies think he could only miss another couple of games. Andrew Harrison and Mario Chalmers pick up PT. |
| Jeremy Lin | BKN | Knee | OUT FOR THE SEASON | D'Angelo Russell will rotate between PG and SG spot and Spencer Dinwiddie will pick up minutes. |
| Pau Gasol | SAS | Knee | DAY TO DAY | Gasol may need to miss a couple of games with a bone bruise in his Knee. Davis Bertans will pick up a lot of minutes. Joffrey Lauvergne will grab PT. |
| Danilo Gallinari | LAC | Hand | DAY TO DAY | Gallo missed his last two games with a bruised Hand and Wednesday night isn't looking good. Tyrone Wallace will pick up more playing time. |
| Ryan Anderson | HOU | Hip | DAY TO DAY | Anderson will miss Wednesday's game and P.J. Tucker should grab more playing time. Trevor Ariza will pick up more usage. |
| Wayne Ellington | MIA | Quad | DAY TO DAY | Ellington injured his Quad on Tuesday and we're awaiting results of X-Rays. Dwayne Wade and Tyler Johnson will pick up more minutes. |
| Avery Bradley | LAC | Groin | 1-3 Weeks | Even though the Clippers say he's out the next few weeks, Doc Rivers is talkin' surgery and that could cost him the rest of the season. Stay tuned! |
| Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | CHA | Hamstring | DAY TO DAY | MKG strained his Hamstring on Tuesday and we don't know how much time he'll need to miss. Expect Jeremy Lamb to get a major increase in minutes. |
| Jeff Green | CLE | Back | DAY TO DAY | Green's Back is sore and he missed his previous game. If he needs to miss more time Rodney Hood and Cedi Osman pick up playing time. |
| Cody Zeller | CHA | Knee | DAY TO DAY | Zeller is dealing with swelling when it comes to his Knee and may need to sit for a game or two. Frank Kaminsky will pick up a lot of minutes if he can't play. |
| Dion Waiters | MIA | Ankle | OUT FOR THE SEASON | Waiters had Ankle surgery and will miss the rest of the season. Tyler Johnson, Dwayne Wade and Wayne Ellington pick up minutes. |
| Seth Curry | DAL | Tibia | OUT FOR THE SEASON | Curry will not play this season and Yogi Ferrell will grab more playing time along with J.J. Barea. |
| Tyson Chandler | PHX | Neck | No Timetable | Chandler is dealing with MAJOR pains in his Neck and will be out for a bit. Alex Len and Marquese Chriss will pick up playing time. |
| Terrence Ross | ORL | Knee | 3-5 Weeks | Ross could return in a few weeks as his Knee continues to heal slowly and Jonathon Simmons will continue seeing a lot of minutes. |
| Darren Collison | IND | Knee | Next Week | Collison will miss another few games. Cory Joseph will continue picking up a lot of minutes. |
| Mirza Teletovic | MIL | Lung | No Timetable | Teletovic is dealing with issues regarding Blood Clots and that's what's kept Chris Bosh out of Basketball. He could miss the rest of the season. |
| Chandler Parsons | MEM | Illness | DAY TO DAY | Parsons has missed his last three games and his minutes will likely be restricted moving forward once he returns. |
| Thabo Sefolosha | UT | Knee | OUT FOR THE SEASON | Sefolosha had surgery on his Knee and will miss the rest of the season. Jonas Jerebko will see more playing time. |
| Garrett Temple | SAC | Back | DAY TO DAY | Temple has missed his last two games and if he needs to miss Thursday's game, Buddy Hield will pick up more playing time. |
| Malcolm Brogdon | MIL | Quad | 4-6 Weeks | With Brogdon out for potentially the next two months, Sterling Brown, Sean Kilpatrick and Tony Snell will pick up more playing time. |
| Channing Frye | LAL | Appendix | 1-2 Weeks | Frye had an Appendectomy and will miss another week or two of action of action. Brook Lopez and Ivica Zubac will see more playing time. |
| Matthew Dellavedova | MIL | Ankle | 1-2 Weeks | With Delly out, Eric Bledsoe, Sean Kilpatrick and even Jason Terry could pick up more playing time. |
| Manu Ginobili | SAS | Sternum | DAY TO DAY | Ginobili says he should be able to play in Wednesday's game after missing his previous game. Bryn Forbes picks up minutes if he can't play. |
| Malcolm Delaney | ATL | Knee | DAY TO DAY | Delaney is questionable to play on Wednesday and if he can't go Isaiah Taylor will pick up minutes. |
| Brandan Wright | HOU | Knee | DAY TO DAY | Wright will miss his second straight game with Knee soreness on Wednesday. Tarik Black will pick up minutes along with Nene'. |
| Deyonta Davis | MEM | Ankle | DAY TO DAY | Davis will miss Wednesday's game with an Ankle injury and Jarell Martin will pick up more playing time. |
| Ron Baker | NY | Shoulder | OUT FOR THE SEASON | Baker will miss the rest of the season with a Torn Labrum. Jarrett Jack, Emmanuel Mudiay and Frank Ntilikina will pick up more playing time. |
| DeAndre' Bembry | ATL | Abdominal Strain | DAY TO DAY | Bembry will miss Wednesday's game and Taurean Prince will pick up more minutes. This will be his second straight game out. |
| Iman Shumpert | SAC | Foot | No Timetable | Shumpert has been hurt a lot this season and will most likely not see consistent minutes once he returns. |
| Raul Neto | UT | Ankle | No Timetable | Neto hasn't played in a few weeks and will be on the outside looking in when he eventually returns to action. Alec Burks will continue to play more minutes. |
| Paul Zipser | CHI | Foot | DAY TO DAY | Zipser has missed his last two games and will get inconsistent playing time moving forward once he returns. |
| Dante Exum | UT | Shoulder | No Timetable | Exum can shoot but can't take contact yet, but is recovering. Donovan Mitchell will get more run. |
| Antonius Cleveland | ATL | Ankle | DAY TO DAY | Cleveland will likely be released if he can't play during his 10-day contract with Atlanta. |
| Jahlil Okafor | BKN | Illness | DAY TO DAY | Okafor is now dealing with an Illness and missed Tuesday's game. Consider him questionable for Thursday. |
| Jon Leuer | DET | Ankle | OUT FOR THE SEASON | Leuer had Ankle surgery and is out for the rest of the season. |
| Tyler Cavanaugh | ATL | Ankle | Next Week? | With the Hawks tanking, he could earn more playing time down the stretch once he returns. Dewayne Dedmon will play more minutes until he returns. |
| Brandon Knight | PHX | Torn ACL | OUT FOR THE SEASON | He will not be playing this season. |
| Patrick McCaw | GSW | Wrist | 2-3 Weeks | McCaw has a fractured Wrist and will need to miss time. Nick Young and Shaun Livingston will see more playing time. |
| Jonathan Isaac | ORL | Ankle | DAY TO DAY | Isaac could return for Wednesday's game as he's played in multiple G-League games and he's been pracicing. If not, Mario Hezonja will see more minutes. |
| Andre Roberson | OKC | Patellar Tendon | OUT FOR THE SEASON | Roberson will miss the rest of the season and Alex Abrines and Terrance Ferguson will fill in moving forward |
| Torrey Craig | DEN | Hamstring | No Timetable | Craig's injury is worse than we thought and he has no timetable to return and will have a hard time finding room in the rotation. |
| Dorian Finney-Smith | DAL | Knee | 1-3 Weeks | He's on the outside looking into the Mavs rotation when he eventually returns. |
| Solomon Hill | NO | Hamstring | 4-7 Weeks | The Hammy is torn and that'll cost him a ton of time. Dante Cunningham will start in his place. |
| Alan Williams | PHX | Knee | 4-5 Weeks | Williams is making progress and could return in March. If he does come back, Williams will see minutes. |
| Demetrius Jackson | PHI | Groin | DAY TO DAY | Jackson will not play on Thursday and won't see playing time once he's healthy. |
| Alexis Ajinca | NO | Knee | 4-7 Weeks | Ajinca had surgery and will be on the outside looking into the Pelicans rotation if he returns. |
| Furkan Korkmaz | PHI | Lisfranc Injury | 1-2 Weeks | Korkmaz is on the outside looking in when it comes to the Sixers rotation. |
| Jawun Evans | LAC | Groin | No Timetable | Evans may not return this season and might need surgery. Austin Rivers, Lou Williams and Milos Teodosic will pick up more playing time. |
| Justin Anderson | PHI | Ankle | DAY TO DAY | Anderson sprained his Ankle and he hasn't been able to return. Marco Belinelli should be able to steal a few minutes. |
Player News
Kristaps Porzingis (illness) said after Wednesday’s Game 2 loss to the Knicks that his current stamina issues may be related to the problem that sidelined him for eight games late in the regular season.
After an illness limited him to 13 first-half minutes in Boston’s series-opening defeat on Monday, Porzingis came off the bench in Game 2. Unfortunately, he could only give the Celtics 14 minutes. Following the game, Porzingis said his current problem may be related to the upper respiratory ailment that sidelined him for eight games late in the regular season. “Probably, probably,” Porzingis said. “I’ve had like ups and downs throughout until this point. Just now, had a big crash. Now, my energy, my everything, hasn’t been good, but who cares? Have to move forward and it will get better from this point.” While Boston’s shot selection was the focus following its two home defeats, Porzingis’ limited availability has also been a factor. He’ll hope to return to full health in time for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.
Nikola Jokic finished with 17 points (6-of-16 FGs), eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block, two three-pointers and six turnovers in Game 2 against the Thunder on Wednesday.
This was Jokic’s worst performance of the postseason, and it came to an end in the third quarter. He fouled out with 1:17 left in the third, which brought his night to a close after he played 32 minutes. OKC was up 41 points when Jokic fouled out, so his night may have been close to over anyway. Jokic dominated Game 1, and the Thunder adjusted. Denver will need other players to step up if they want to have a chance of winning this series, but Jokic will also need to be better than he was in this game.
Michael Porter Jr. struggled on Wednesday and finished with just eight points (2-of-10 FGs), five rebounds, one steal and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Thunder.
MPJ was slightly better in the second half, as all eight of his points came in the third quarter. However, the game was already out of hand at that point after a terrible first half for both Porter Jr. and the Nuggets. MPJ shot 1-of-8 in Game 1, and they’ll need him to be much better moving forward. The series will now shift back to Denver, and MPJ will look to get back on track during the two home games before the series heads back to Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook provided a boost off the bench with 19 points (5-of-11 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs), one rebound, five assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 loss to the Thunder in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Despite an ugly first half for Denver, Westbrook was productive and entered the break with 15 points. He didn’t add much in the second half, though he sat the entire fourth quarter, still it was enough to lead the Nuggets in scoring. Russ has been awesome over Denver’s last five games, and his continued success will be key to the Nuggets winning this series. Though this game was ugly, they still have homecourt advantage in this series. They’ll look to keep it in Game 3 on Friday.
Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double on Wednesday with 15 points (3-of-8 FGs, 7-of-7 FTs), 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
After struggling in Game 1, Holmgren bounced back and recorded the fourth postseason triple-double of his career, with three of those coming this season. Aside from Game 3 against Memphis, Holmgren has swatted at least two shots in every game during these playoffs, which was a trend that continued in this game despite him only playing 26 minutes. Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein (14/8/5/1/1) will look to continue to limit Nikola Jokic (17 points) in Game 3 on Friday.
Jalen Williams bounced back on Wednesday with 17 points (6-of-11 FGs), four rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
Williams was criticized for his poor performance in the Thunder’s Game 1 loss, but he responded well in OKC’s blowout victory. He was on pace for a bigger night, but he only played 26 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter due to the lopsided score. He shot the ball much better after shooting 5-of-20 in Game 1, and he’ll need that success to carry over into Game 3 in Denver on Friday.