NBA recap: Injuries out West, DSJ available and Nets’ arrival

Injuries may decide the West, a top-10 pick from the 2018 NBA Draft is available, the arrival of a downtrodden franchise and more in this week’s NBA recap.

Health and attrition always plays a massive role in the landscape of an NBA season. Campaigns can be ended from the start with a devastating injury that puts a star out for the year, or a muscle knock could come at the worst time possible, during a rough part of the schedule. No matter the team, everybody is affected by injuries.

That’s no different this season, especially with the Western Conference standings. The Denver Nuggets remain atop the West despite having everybody except Nikola Jokic missing time. The Golden State Warriors were without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green for multiple weeks. The Oklahoma City Thunder haven’t had Andre Roberson all season and Russell Westbrook missed an early portion of the year.

The Houston Rockets have Chris Paul sidelined indefinitely and can add Clint Capela to the bench for 4-6 weeks with a thumb injury. The Utah Jazz are down their top three point guards. The Los Angeles Lakers have fallen out of the playoffs (barely) with LeBron James and Rajon Rondo out since Christmas Day. The New Orleans Pelicans are playing well and just barely got Nikola Mirotic and Elfrid Payton back.

There are only eight spots and injuries will play a massive role in this race. Can James Harden continue his record-setting scoring rate and carry Houston without its second- and third-best players? How much further can the Lakers continue to plummet until LeBron returns with a difficult schedule awaiting his comeback? Can healthier teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs stay in the top eight?

Everybody expected this race to be this close, but injuries to massive contributors have added a wrinkle to the standings. Getting and maintaining health is the most important factor as we near the All-Star break and moving forward.