NBA INJURIES
| NAME | TEAM | INJURY | TIMETABLE TO RETURN | ANALYSIS |
| Joel Embiid | PHI | Knee | DAY TO DAY | Embiid is playing through pain and he'll continue to do so with his minutes being watched carefully. Jonah Bolden and Boban Marjanovic could be in line for more PT. |
| DeMarcus Cousins | GSW | Quad | 5-6 Weeks | Cousins may or may not make it back for the 2019 NBA Playoffs, but, he avoided surgery and until (if) he returns, Kevon Looney , Andrew Bogut and Jordan Bell should see more minutes. |
| Blake Griffin | DET | Knee | DAY TO DAY | Griffin has now missed both of his first round games and it's uncertain whether or not he'll make it back for the round at all. Thon Maker will see more minutes if he can't go. |
| Jusuf Nurkic | POR | Tibia/Fibula | OUT FOR THE PLAYOFFS | Nurkic is done and Enes Kanter and Zach Collins will pick up the bulk of the minutes left behind for the rest of the way. |
| Victor Oladipo | IND | Knee | OUT FOR THE PLAYOFFS | Oladipo will miss the playoffs after tearing tendons in his Knee. Tyreke Evans will see a lot more playing time and Cory Joseph and Aaron Holiday should see some more love in the rotation. |
| Marcus Smart | BOS | Oblique | 3-5 Weeks | Smart will need to miss time w/ a torn Oblique and Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown will pick up minutes and usage. The Celtics will have to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals for any shot to see Smart again. |
| Dejounte Murray | SAS | Torn ACL | OUT FOR THE PLAYOFFS | Murray is out for the 2018-2019 playoffs. Patty Mills , Derrick White and Bryn Forbes will see a ton of minutes. |
| Malcolm Brogdon | MIL | Foot | 1-3 Weeks | Brogdon will miss at least the first round of the playoffs. It's not a lock that he makes it back at the start of the second round. George Hill will play more and Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton will see more usage. |
| Andre Roberson | OKC | Knee | No Timetable | Roberson is not recovering and we don't know when we'll see him on the court. Dennis Schroder and Terrance Ferguson will continue to fill in. |
| Markelle Fultz | ORL | Neck/Shoulder | No Timetable | Fultz is suffering from Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and it's impacting his shooting ability. Jerian Grant and D.J. Augustin will continue to see more playing time. Fultz is unlikely to play in the playoffs. |
| OG Anunoby | TOR | Appendectomy | No Timetable | It normally takes a little under a month to get back in gear after having an Appendectomy and Norman Powell will see more playing time until he returns to action. |
| Damian Jones | GSW | Shoulder | OUT FOR THE PLAYOFFS | He's out for the playoffs until we're told otherwise. There's been no indication that he's close to returning. DeMarcus Cousins and Kevon Looney will see more minutes. |
| Timofey Mozgov | ORL | Knee | OUT FOR THE PLAYOFFS | Mozgov will be listed as out for the playoffs until we're told differently. He's been on this injury report all season. Khem Birch has a shot to grab a few minutes because of this situation. |
| Mohamed Bamba | ORL | Leg | No Timetable | Bamba will continue to miss time as he's dealing w/ a stress fracture in his Leg. Khem Birch will see a ton of back up minutes until he returns. |
| Allen Crabbe | BKN | Knee | No Timetable | Crabbe needs more time on the shelf after having a Knee procedure. He'll likely miss the playoffs. Joe Harris and DeMarre Carroll will pick up minutes and Caris LeVert will see his usage go up. |
| Pau Gasol | MIL | Ankle | OUT FOR THE PLAYOFFS | Gasol battled major health issues this season and can't see him being active for the playoffs meaning more playing time for Brook Lopez , D.J. Wilson and Ersan Ilyasova . |
| Dante Exum | UT | Knee | No Timetable | Exum's Knee is partially torn and even though he hasn't been OFFICIALLY ruled out for the playoffs, it'll be hard to see him come back and have a legit role on this team. Ricky Rubio , Royce O'Neale and Raul Neto benefit. |
| Donte DiVincenzo | MIL | Heel | OUT FOR THE PLAYOFFS | DiVincenzo's season is over. Tony Snell (when healthy) will get more minutes and George Hill will also pick up minutes. |
| Hamidou Diallo | OKC | Elbow | 4-5 Weeks | Diallo just had surgery on his Elbow and his playoff return seems unlikely and that will give the Thunder more reasons to keep Terrence Ferguson on the court. |
| Patrick McCaw | TOR | Thumb | DAY TO DAY | McCaw may return in game three of his series. If he can't go Norman Powell will pick up even more playing time. Fred VanVleet should see an increase in usage and Jodie Meeks should get minutes as well. |
| Tony Snell | MIL | Ankle | DAY TO DAY | Snell continues to miss games even though he is practicing a bit. Pat Connaughton and Sterling Brown will see more minutes and usage. |
| Svi Mykhailiuk | DET | Finger | 3-5 Weeks | Mykhailiuk had surgery on his Finger and he likely won't return even if the Pistons went on the greatest playoff run ever at this point. He was on the outside looking into the rotation. Ish Smith is the back up guard. |
Player News
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.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 34 points (11-of-13 FGs, 11-of-11 FTs), four rebounds, eight assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 win over the Nuggets in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Aside from Game 4 against Memphis, SGA hasn’t been his typical uber-efficient self during the playoffs so far. Well, that changed in Game 2, which contributed to a dominant win for Oklahoma City. This was his fourth straight 30-point game, and that helped OKC bounce back from a two-point loss in Game 1. He only played 30 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter, but SGA did plenty of damage when he was on the floor. The series will now shift to Denver, and OKC will need to win a road game to retake homecourt advantage in this series. Game 3 will be on Friday.