With the 2015-16 NBA season right around the corner, the anticipation is building for a new year. The last thing that fans want to hear about is their star players being injured. There hasn’t been many major injuries leading up to the regular season but a couple of notable players have been hurt – including most notably the superstar point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Here is a look at some of the notable injury concerns to keep an eye on this week in our NBA news and notes.
Chris Paul Ailing
Clippers point guard Chris Paul will miss at least a couple of preseason games after he suffered a fractured left index finger in practice this past Saturday. The good news is that the injury isn’t expected to keep Paul sidelined for long and there’s an outside chance he could still play in Wednesday’s preseason game in Shanghai, China.
The eight-time All-Star is coming off another excellent season in which he averaged 19.1 points, 10.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game and with the Clippers looking to contend for an NBA title this season, they will want their stud guard to be ready for the season opener on October 28th against the Sacramento Kings.
James Harden Temporarily Sidelined
There is a good chance Houston Rockets’ guard James Harden won’t play again until the team’s season opener after he suffered a right knee contusion in the first half of Sunday’s preseason loss to the Orlando Magic. Harden was only supposed to play in two preseason games anyways but the injury occurred in his third preseason game after head coach Kevin McHale asked for him to play in all three games.
The Rockets were fortunate to avoid a major injury scare but don’t expect them to have him back on the floor again before the regular season. McHale has learned his lesson.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Hurt
Brooklyn Nets rookie forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has remained out of practice since suffering an ankle injury and there is no definitive timetable for his return. Right now, the Nets are taking it day by day in order to make sure they don’t push him before he is ready because they don’t want him to aggravate the injury prior to the start of the regular season.
This is a notable blow for Hollis-Jefferson as a long of fantasy GM’s wanted to see and read about how he was progressing in camp. However, he’s going to miss valuable reps and might have some early rust to start the season.
Big things are expected from the 2015 first round pick in his first NBA season but for now, you’ll have to drop him down your draft board a little bit. He’s a wildcard and now we have even less evidence to work with.
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Omer Asik Injured
The New Orleans Pelicans are waiting for center Omer Asik to get back on the floor but won’t rush him as he continues to deal with an injured calf. Asik is expected to miss three weeks with a calf strain. That injury particularly hurts when you factor that Alexis Ajinca is expected to be out four-to-six weeks because of a hamstring injury. It looks like New Orleans will open the regular season without their top two centers available.
The good news for the Pelicans is that they can move Anthony Davis over to the center position in order to help bridge the gap until Asik and Ajinca return. Ryan Anderson would then start at the power forward position, which is probably puts forth the Pelicans most potent offensive lineup but Asik is an upgrade over Anderson at the defensive end. They also did add Kendrick Perkins in the offseason, so he’s expected to see more minutes. The Pelicans won’t want to rush either player back, so expect Davis to play substantial minutes at the center position – at least early on this season.
