National Basketball Association
NBA playoffs: Seven teams. Three great matchups. And a whole lot of injuries.
National Basketball Association

NBA playoffs: Seven teams. Three great matchups. And a whole lot of injuries.

Updated Jun. 16, 2021 2:59 p.m. ET

By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist

The NBA playoffs have three nail-biting series, guaranteed to extend toward the cusp of the weekend, if not further. Plus, one contest is in the books already, with its victor, the Phoenix Suns, enjoying the deserved and unexpected benefit of a week’s break. Also, some big names have long since departed.

And there have been a whole lot of injuries.

It is sadly impossible to tell the story of these NBA playoffs, any part of them, without talking about the myriad ways in which physical ailments – some serious, some irritating, some stomach-turning and some that changed everything – have come to pass.

Virtually everywhere you look, across both the seven-strong field of those remaining in contention and the waste-ground littered with teams that thought they had a chance but already got bounced, you’ll find a variety of ailments that struck just at the wrong time.

The latest to grab widespread attention was a knee injury suffered by Kawhi Leonard on Monday in the LA Clippers' Game 4 victory over the Utah Jazz. Leonard will miss Wednesday's Game 5 in Utah and could be out beyond that.

"This is devastating," FOX Sports NBA Analyst Chris Broussard said on "First Things First." "Without Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers are losing the series if he's out the whole way."

Chris Broussard: Kawhi missing Game 5 due to injury is 'devastating' for Clippers | FIRST THINGS FIRST

Chris Broussard breaks down why he believes the LA Clippers are losing not only Game 5 but also the series if Kawhi won't be on the court.
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The news didn't stop there, as reports surrounding another NBA superstar being sidelined also surfaced Wednesday morning. According to The Athletic, Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul has entered the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocols and is out indefinitely.

Similar to Leonard, Paul's timetable to return is up in the air. If Paul is vaccinated against COVID-19, he could be facing a shorter absence.

"Any conference final game he misses, the Suns go from either a slight favorite or slight underdog to significant underdog unless it's against a Clippers team without the now injured Kawhi Leonard," The Athletic's Anthony Slater wrote. "If it's a situation where we're talking a 10-14-day absence, we may be ruminating about this as the devastating blow that kept Paul and the Suns from a shot at their first title."

Before Wednesday's flurry of news, the injury that grabbed widespread attention was the right ankle sprain suffered by Kyrie Irving on Sunday during the Brooklyn Nets’ Game 4 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks. As Irving writhed on the hardwood in severe discomfort and too many replays showed the sickening contortion that led to it, an entire rethinking of how the postseason would play out was underway.

Of course, that was before Kevin Durant put together what should be remembered as one of the greatest individual NBA playoff performances in recent memory, tallying 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in the Nets' 114-108 come-from-behind victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Skip Bayless: Kevin Durant proved he's the best player on the planet in crucial GM5 win vs. Bucks | UNDISPUTED

Kevin Durant had arguably the game of his life Tuesday as the Brooklyn Nets beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks 114-108.

Dealing with a hamstring injury, James Harden made his return to the lineup Tuesday for his first game action since June 5. Within the first couple of minutes, it was clear that Harden was not himself. The Nets' high-scoring guard finished the game with just five points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field, which included an 0-for-8 clip from 3-point range.

Despite Harden's lingering hamstring issue and Irving's unclear status, FOX Bet places the Nets at -275 to reach the Eastern Conference finals. Heading into Wednesday night's NBA playoff action, the Nets are the favorites to hoist the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, listed at +180.

Even early in the postseason, there were significant injuries that made a mark on a star-studded collection of players. There was Anthony Davis, severely limited by knee and groin issues. For the Washington Wizards, Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal both played hurt. In Boston, the Celtics had injury problems impacting Kemba Walker and a string of others. The Atlanta Hawks just lost De’Andre Hunter for the season.

Paul has been outstanding despite shoulder problems. LeBron James was banged up. An injury to Mike Conley has slowed the Utah Jazz’s surge. Joel Embiid is battling through a torn meniscus.

"If we have the core of Anthony Davis and LeBron James healthy … we’ll have a chance to compete for a championship," Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. Turns out they didn’t … and they couldn’t.

Maybe all the injuries can be chalked up to coincidence. Maybe it is a result of the high intensity of this postseason, with rapid ball movement and warp-speed transitions. Or maybe the short offseason and condensed, 72-game campaign are taking their toll right at crunch time.

"The key to an NBA offseason is rest and regeneration," FOX Sports athlete injury and performance analyst Dr. Matt Provencher told me just days before the 2020-21 campaign. "They optimize their prevention methods during that time.

"That is what these guys are very good at doing, so having that window shortened could be concerning to many of them. You are potentially losing some time that would be used for recovery and improving the body’s resiliency for managing the load during the season."'

According to ESPN, this season saw the highest rate of injury-enforced absences (5.1 players per game) in league history.

Yet when it comes to the playoffs, these injures have taken on a new meaning, and health is going to play a monumental role moving forward.

The NBA takes injuries seriously, so much so that it issues a league-wide postseason injury report three times daily. The final report for Monday contained 12 names, with problems ranging from calf strains and Achilles soreness to a torn ACL.

Conley’s absence has stemmed some of the momentum that was building behind the Jazz, who ended the regular season with basketball’s best record and allowed the Clippers to shift the series back to parity. The Bucks, on the other hand, have had time to adapt to point guard Donte DiVicenzo’s ankle injury and have compensated appropriately.

There are games of chess going on, and untimely injuries can shake up everything. The race for the title is wide open, and it could turn into a war of attrition.

It has been an enthralling postseason so far, with high-quality games, the surprising (and sometimes not so surprising) emergence of young stars and the certainty that either a new champion – or a team that hasn’t won it in a long time – will lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Getting over the finish line will require all the usual grit and determination, some stellar performances and also, perhaps as much as anything, avoiding being dealt the wrong hand in the injury stakes.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

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