With the NBA regular season in the books, the focus now shifts to the playoffs with 16 teams preparing to make a run at the NBA title. Realistically, there are only a handful of teams with a legitimate shot at winning it all and with the threat of some lingering issues, that list could become even narrower. With that in mind, let’s take a look at five injuries that are worth keeping a close eye on heading in to the postseason.
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
At this point, even if he was completely healthy, the Bulls would be concerned about a Rose injury. And considering he didn’t play the second half of Chicago’s season finale against the Atlanta Hawks due to left knee soreness, this situation will certainly linger over the team heading into their first round series. Rose might never return to his MVP form but he has averaged 17.7 points, 4.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds for the Bulls this year and they are that much better with him on the floor compared to out of the lineup.
Chicago won’t take the Milwaukee Bucks lightly in the first round of the playoffs but if they find situations where they can give Rose some much needed rest throughout the series, there is no doubt they will take advantage of it. The Bulls would be wise to take care of business as fast as possible and get him some rest in between rounds.
Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
It wasn’t that long ago that the Grizzlies seemed like a lock for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and a team that could do some serious playoff damage, but they struggled down the stretch en route to finishing 14-13 in their last 27 games. On top of that, now Gasol is dealing with both a sprained left knee and sprained ankle heading in to the postseason. The good news for Memphis is that Gasol was able to play in their season finale against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday but the bad news is that he will most likely not be at full strength heading in to the Grizzlies opening round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies
Gasol isn’t the only injury concern for Memphis either as Conley didn’t play in Wednesday’s game against the Pacers because of an injured foot. He could still potentially miss a playoff game after head coach Dave Joerger admitted he was not ready to play. Beno Udrih started in place of Conley against Indiana but if they are forced to go without Conley for Game 1 against Portland, it would be a major disadvantage.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers are dealing with their own injury concerns with Wesley Matthews out and Aldridge dealing with a nagging foot injury that kept him out two games before he made his return in Portland’s season finale against the Dallas Mavericks. Aldridge scored 19 points with eight rebounds in 30 minutes versus Dallas but that won’t necessarily make the Trail Blazers feel that much better about his situation heading in to the playoffs where they will need him to be healthy to have any shot against the Grizzlies big men.
Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks will be expected to beat the Brooklyn Nets in their first round playoff series even without Millsap but if they are going to have any shot at making an extended run this postseason, they will need their All-Star big man back in the lineup. Millsap was able to play in Wednesday’s season finale against the Bulls and it was good to see him get 27 minutes of action to knock the rust off. It will be interesting to see when Millsap plays for Atlanta and how many minutes he logs as this team will likely try to be very cautious knowing how important he will be as they go deeper in the playoffs.
