The Basketball Gods have frowned upon the league's best players lately as far as injuries are concerned. The list of superstars who have missed most or all of this season -- headlined by Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving -- is long and continuously growing.
There is some good news, though. Curry made his much-anticipated return on Thursday, scoring 23 points in a loss to the defending-champion Toronto Raptors, and Damian Lillard came back from a groin injury in the Blazers' 125-104 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
If you're looking for every single injury in the league, so you know who's going to be in the lineup each night, we already have you covered. This page will not be as exhaustive, but it will feature the most important injuries in the league, along with a quick analysis of them.
Curry's trainer, Brandon Payne, said that it could take a full year for the nerve issue in Curry's left hand to be completely gone, but the superstar is back. Curry scored 23 points in a loss to the Raptors on Thursday night, and despite the defeat, it's safe to assume that the Warriors will not rank 30th in offense for the last six weeks of the season.
Back injuries are no joke, and it's not clear what caused the nerve impingement Simmons is experiencing. He missed Philadelphia's game against Brooklyn on Feb. 20, and he played just five (perhaps ill-advised) minutes against Milwaukee two days later. However long his absence is -- there is no official or reported timetable -- the Sixers are in a rough spot. Pressed into starting duty, Shake Milton scored 39 points in the best game of his career against the Clippers on Sunday, but the plan was supposed to be playing through Embiid. Which brings us to ...
"Do a 180" scored a career-high 49 points against Atlanta on Feb. 24, and then it appeared that disaster had struck: He left the following game in Cleveland with what the team termed a sprained shoulder. Philadelphia suffered an embarrassing 108-94 loss to the Cavs two days later, but there has been good news since then: The shoulder reportedly has no structural damage. Since he was scheduled to be reevaluated around now, an update should be forthcoming.
The Trail Blazers have been decimated by injuries this season, but there's finally some good news coming out of Portland. Jusuf Nurkic, who has been out for almost an entire calendar year aftter suffering a brutal leg injury, is returning on March 15. Only 3.5 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, Nurkic's return couldn't come at a better time for the Blazers.
The Bulls guard said Tuesday that he is "probably out a week" with a left quad strain. He missed Monday's two-point win against Dallas and Wednesday's seven-point loss against his former team in Minnesota. Denzel Valentine filled in for his first two starts of the season and scored a season-high 17 points on 7 of 15 shooting against the Mavericks. Chicago's starting five -- Tomas Satoransky, LaVine, Otto Porter, Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. -- has not shared the court since Nov. 6, but, if nothing changes, they will finally all be available at the same time when LaVine is ready to play.
Brown couldn't finish Tuesday's overtime loss against Brooklyn because of a right hamstring injury, and he missed the Celtics' 112-106 win in Cleveland on Wednesday. He'll be out for a week, per Brad Stevens, which means he could be back for next Thursday's matchup with the Bucks. Before then, Boston will host the Jazz and the Thunder and visit the Pacers. Without Brown (and Gordon Hayward, who is day-to-day with a right knee injury), there will be more responsibility on the shoulders of Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. Walker, by the way, recently returned from a knee injury himself.
Due to swelling in his knee, Oladipo has missed Indiana's last two games. He is considered day-to-day, and it's a bit disappointing that he has still only appeared in 10 games on the season. Ideally, he would have found his rhythm playing next to Malcolm Brogdon by now, but the pair has only logged 242 minutes together and the Pacers have scored just 102 points per 100 possessions in those minutes, which is worse than the Warriors' league-worst offense.
It has been a trying season for Brogdon, who started his Pacers tenure playing like an All-Star but has seen his numbers dip after a series of injuries. The latest is a hip issue, which forced him to leave Indiana's 119-100 loss against his former team, the Bucks, in the second quarter. He said he "felt something pull" when jumping to challenge Khris Middleton's shot, which, yikes.
Jackson sprained his knee against the Lakers on Feb. 21, though, in the second game of the Grizzlies' winless four-game road trip. Memphis lost at home in Sacramento after that but has since recovered with three straight wins, including 39-point blowouts in Atlanta and Brooklyn. Taylor Jenkins said Wednesday that the team will be cautious with Jackson, but "everything is trending in the right direction" and the team is hopeful he'll be able to return next week. While the Grizzlies are in eighth place with a 3.5-game cushion, their difficult schedule means that they don't have much margin for error.
Green sat out again against Toronto, and he has missed six of Golden State's last seven games. (The first two were because of a pelvic contusion, and the last three have been because of left knee soreness.) It would be nice to see him setting screens for Curry again, but to say this year's Warriors have been risk-averse when it comes to injuries would be an understatement.
VanVleet was listed as questionable for Thursday's game against Golden State, but did not suit up. The Raptors have been perhaps the league's most injury-resistant team this season, but they looked lackluster without him in losses to Charlotte at home and Denver on the road (particularly when Kyle Lowry was on the bench) before a bounce-back win in Phoenix.
Toronto just doesn't look the same on either end without the 35-year-old Gasol, who has been out since Jan. 30 with a hamstring injury, and the team has gone 16-10 in the 26 games he's missed this season. Unimpressive as his per-game numbers may look, Toronto's defense is worlds better with Gasol on the court, and so is its halfcourt offense.
The rookie guard sprained his ankle on Feb. 3 and has been sidelined since. The Heat have been vague about when he might return, but he has been seen getting shots up pregame lately. Herro has missed the last 13 games, a stretch that started off terribly for Miami but now includes a four-game winning streak.
Oubre had surgery on Tuesday, and the Suns announced that he will be re-evaluated in four weeks. It is notable that they didn't officially rule him out for the season, which has been the best of his career: In 56 games, Oubre averaged 18.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in 34.5 minutes and Phoenix was better on both ends with him on the court. The Suns were (at least technically) in the race for the eighth spot before Oubre tore his meniscus, but now they've lost four straight, including a two-point loss against Detroit and a 16-point loss against Golden State, so that dream is all but certainly over.
A left hamstring strain has kept Redick out of the lineup for the last three games, all of which have been losses. New Orleans still has a shot at the playoffs, thanks largely to an easy schedule down the stretch, but it hurts to lose him at such a critical juncture. The team announced on March 1 that he'd be sidelined for at least two weeks.
Rose's season might be over because of a Grade 2 ankle sprain. He'll be re-evaluated after two weeks, but Dwane Casey said, "We'd get a little bump from it as a team, but I don't know what he would gain from it by coming back." Rose's offense was one of the few bright spots in an utterly forgettable season in Detroit, but now Casey has no choice but to start Brandon Knight at point guard. The Pistons also recently brought in Jordan McRae for some additional scoring punch.
Dunn's All-Defense-caliber season ended when he sprained his MCL early in the Bulls' game against the Nets on Jan. 31. Jim Boylen finally confirmed it on Tuesday, weeks after NBC Sports' K.C. Johnson reported it was a possibility. Dunn is in a weird place, heading into restricted free agency after proving that he can make an enormous impact as a stopper at a time when shooting-challenged guards have never been less popular.
It took only a week for Holmes to earn a starting role in Sacramento, and his emergence as a dependable, productive starting center was the team's best story until he injured his shoulder on Jan. 6. Despite telling NBC Sports' Tom Haberstroh that he's "definitely ready to get back out there" at a live podcast during All-Star Weekend, Holmes has remained sidelined, but he took contact in Wednesday's practice and should be back soon. He will miss Thursday's game against Philadelphia, however, meaning Luke Walton has a bit more time to figure out what to do with the minutes that have been going to Alex Len and Harry Giles. This decision actually has stakes: Sacramento has won six of seven games, including two wins against the Grizzlies, so it is only 3.5 games out of the playoffs.
Feb. 28 update: The 27-year-old wing tore his ACL in Toronto last Sunday. It is an awful, long-term injury, and the Pacers have some stuff to figure out. They had a six-game losing streak earlier this month, and they lost that Raptors game by 46 points. Indiana desperately needs Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon to be their best selves down the stretch. Oladipo missed two games with a back injury before scoring 15 points in 26 minutes on Thursday against Portland, and Brogdon has been struggling in a major way.
Clarke has been one of the most efficient players in the league this season, and the draft nerds that hyped him up have been taking well-earned victory laps since summer league. The numbers are staggering: He has shot 74 percent at the rim, 52 percent from midrange and 41 percent from 3-point range. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the rookie left Monday's game against the Clippers with what turned out to be a right quadriceps injury, which will cost him at least two weeks. Memphis has lost four straight games, and its odds of making the playoffs have taken a hit without him and Jackson.
The Pistons' longest-tenured player -- seriously! -- is still out with a knee injury. Detroit has been a disaster this season, and Casey must hope Kennard can pick up where he left off when he is finally healthy. Before the injury, Kennard was having the best year of his career, increasing his efficiency while taking on a slightly larger playmaking role and averaging a full 10 minutes more than he did in Year 2. Kennard hasn't played since Dec. 21.
Feb. 21 update: After missing 26 games with a shoulder injury, Irving returned last month, but was still feeling discomfort. Now, after a trip to another specialist, he's undergoing season-ending surgery on the shoulder. The Nets have gone 8-12 with Irving in the lineup and are 25-29 overall, which is good enough for seventh place in the top-heavy Eastern Conference. Even with Durant sidelined, Brooklyn had hoped to take a step forward this season and find out how guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert fit next to Irving. Instead, everything about the 2019-20 Nets has felt provisional; after playing in their first 11 games, Irving never appeared in more than four consecutively. Dinwiddie and LeVert will remain the Nets' primary playmakers, and, with next season in mind, it's worth monitoring LeVert's spot-up shooting.
Towns will be out for at least another two weeks due to a fractured wrist, the team announced on Friday; they're trying to pursue a non-surgical treatment plan. Before they knew it was a fracture, the injury sidelined him in their Feb. 12 loss to the Hornets. Minnesota went small in that game, starting Juancho Hernangomez and James Johnson in the frontcourt next to point guard D'Angelo Russell and wings Josh Okogie and Malik Beasley. This news is somewhat of a setback, as the Wolves are trying to lay the foundation for a Towns-and-Russell-led future, but they are 19-42 and their dreams of sneaking into the playoffs died months ago.
Capela was hurt when the Hawks traded for him, and he has yet to make his debut with the team. He told reporters this week that he would still like to play this season, but it's unclear when or if that will happen, because he's still dealing with soreness. When Capela is healthy, all eyes will be on his pick-and-roll chemistry with Trae Young and how John Collins functions next to him in the frontcourt. Dewayne Dedmon, recently reacquired from the Kings, will presumably continue to start until Capela is ready to go.
Bagley has played in only 13 games this season because of a broken thumb and a foot sprain, and this foot sprain is proving to be a persistent problem. Kings fans are frustrated with the team's lack of transparency, but the team would probably argue that the injury has been confusing for everyone involved. He might not even return this season, according to GM Vlade Divac and Bagley himself. On Thursday, the team announced that he will miss at least the next three weeks.
Feb. 19 update: Leonard hurt his ankle against the Sixers on Feb. 3, and he did not join the Heat when they left for their five-game West Coast road trip before the break. Coach Erik Spoelstra said he will miss Thursday's game in Atlanta on Thursday, and he could be out longer than that. When he returns, Spoelstra's coaching staff will have a decision to make -- Leonard has started every game he's played in this season, but Miami could keep Derrick Jones Jr. in that role or give newcomer Jae Crowder a shot.
It has been obvious for a while that Isaac's initial 8-10 week timeline might have been optimistic: The Magic reportedly applied for a disabled player exception for him, signaling that they project him to miss the remainder of the season. Earlier this month, Magic president Jeff Weltman confirmed that Isaac is out for the year in a radio interview. This is a shame: He was on his way to an All-Defensive Team selection, and he showed real growth as an offensive player, too.
Feb. 7 update: The Heat were a less versatile defensive team without Winslow, with staggering on/off numbers, but now rather than hoping that his return will rejuvenate them on that end, they are counting on Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill doing that. He hasn't been a Grizzly long enough for his new team to have issued an update, but he has played in one game in the last two months and was not expected to join the Heat on their pre-All-Star road trip.
Powell is not a household name, but he has been a mainstay in Dallas' starting lineup this season because he fits so well with Luka Doncic. Maxi Kleber will be the recipient of most of Doncic's lobs in his absence, and Kristaps Porzingis started at center on Thursday in Portland.
Durant has been a bit more visible in Brooklyn lately, getting shots up with media around, but the team's stance has not changed: He is out for the season. If the Nets are lucky, the rest of the roster will be healthy enough over the next few months to establish some momentum going into next season and allow the front office to make educated decisions about what the team should look like when Durant returns.
Thompson somehow keeps making news -- a college jersey retirement here, words of encouragement on the bench there -- but he will not play this season, as the Warriors confirmed that though he is making good progress with his recovery, he will not return until the 2020-21 campaign.
The Magic were granted a disabled player exception for Aminu, who tore his meniscus in late November and had surgery in January. Aminu was having the worst offensive season of his career before the injury, but he fit Orlando's defensive identity.
Another theoretical breakout candidate for a team that expected to be way better than it is, Collins hurt his shoulder three games into the season and is now hoping to come back in March. His absence is one of the reasons Portland has been awful defensively, and perhaps the main reason why Carmelo Anthony is now on the roster.
Hood had a lot on his shoulders this season, as Portland let both of its starting forwards walk in free agency and promoted Hood on a two-year deal. The devastating Achilles rupture took place on Dec. 6, ending a season in which he was one of the team's few bright spots -- Hood shot a totally unsustainable but awesome 49.3 percent from deep in 21 games. Kent Bazemore replaced him in the starting five, but has since been traded to the Kings for Trevor Ariza, wh.
Largely out of sight and out of mind this season, Wall played five-on-five with Amar'e Stoudemire (!) on Wednesday and has taken part in controlled 4-on-4 scrimmages in practice. He is still considered out for the season, having undergone surgery on his ruptured Achilles last February.
The Pistons were granted a disabled player exception for Griffin on Wednesday, a formality after he had knee surgery on Jan. 7. This is the same knee that required surgery at the end of last season, the one that probably should have kept him out of Detroit's entire first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks. (He played in Games 3 and 4 of the sweep.) Griffin was not even close to his normal self in the 18 games he played this season, and Detroit appears poised to start a full-blown rebuild in between now and the trade deadline.
Cousins has had a horrific run of three serious knee injuries in the last two calendar years. In August he tore his ACL, which likely ended his season before it began. Los Angeles responded by signing Dwight Howard, whose career had hit a low point, and Howard has rewarded the team with his best production in years thanks to improved conditioning and a commitment to playing a supporting role. Coach Frank Vogel has repeatedly said that Cousins could come back late in the season, which feels, um, optimistic.
