Week 11 Injury Watch

TEAM INJURIES

Atlanta Hawks Josh McRoberts (Foot), Justise Winslow (Shoulder), Chris Paul (Thumb),
There is a lot of relief in ATL this week, with half of their week 10 injuries back among the walking. But it still hurts so bad seeing CP3 and Justise limping towards the bench every night (accompanied by McBob of course).

Brooklyn Nets Khris Middleton (Hamstring), Tim Quarterman (CD), Caris LeVert (Rest),
The Middleton countdown has switched from months, to weeks, to days now - as wizkid needs to remind us in everything he does. LeVert would have hurt a few weeks ago, but the kid has seemingly fallen entirely out of the rotation after a great few weeks.

Boston Celtics Derrick Jones Jr. (CD), Kevin Seraphin (Knee), Brook Lopez (Rest),
Kevin Seraphin will take Patrick Patterson's suit seat, but the real story here is that BroLo is taking a week off to rest. The Celts are trying to claw their way into a position where they have home court advantage in a playoff series and he's just taking nights off after they gave up so much to bring him in! Dedmon is not an acceptable replacement for one of the best post scorers in the league!

Charlotte Hornets Bruno Caboclo (CD), Dirk Nowitzki (Rest),
Gary Harris is back, which will help the bench. But Dirk is tired of the trade speculation and is taking a rest. Maybe Digeze is relieved that he is because it makes the awkward lineup conversations and trade rumors a bit easier for the team to play through. But when you're a half game out of playoff position, you need everybody you can get.

Chicago Bulls Trevor Booker (Rest), Dragan Bender (Ankle),
A couple of end of bench guys are back, and now Dragan is out, but that is all just noise. The real story is Booker's continued absence. The guy has now rested on consecutive Friday's - something that will drive any GM mad. He's typically a starter on this team, and Mike Scott is being asked to do a lot for the Bulls without him. Fans aren't as mad as the GM though, as the Bulls have continued to win games.

Cleveland Cavaliers Brian Roberts (Illness),
PK was determined that Parker would leave the injury list one way or another (traded to ORL, where he'll suit up in week 11). Now Brian Roberts is all alone at the end of the bench, and everybody else is happy.

Dallas Mavericks Jerryd Bayless (Wrist), Joe Harris (Ankle), Jarell Martin (CD), Emmanuel Mudiay (Back),
Bayless is still out, and now he has a group of friends to hang out with. The most troubling of which is Emmanuel Mudiay. Newly acquired and healed point guard Cam Payne will get the start in Mudiay's absence as the team continues to search for somebody to pay the price for his backcourt mate Lou Williams.

Denver Nuggets Troy Williams (D-League), Chinanu Onuaku (CD),
All is well in Denver. There are a couple of injuries, but it's likely the guys that would be on the IR in any case - helpful when you have a pack of good teams chasing you for the 3 seed.

Detroit Pistons Brandan Wright (Ankle), Ben Simmons (Foot), Diamond Stone (CD), Henry Ellenson (CD),
The buzz around a Ben Simmons debut is near fever pitch, but we'll have to wait at least another week or two for that. The real news this week is that in addition to replacing their starting center with a trio of new faces, they will also be without starting power forward Henry Ellenson. Tristan Thompson will come in as a power forward with Cole Aldrich starting next to him at the five.

Golden State Warriors Rodney Stuckey (Hamstring), Stephen Zimmerman (CD), Rodney Stuckey (Hamstring), Demetrius Jackson (D-League), Jose Barea (Calf),
Luer and Deng are back, which is great news for their forward rotation. On the downside, their backcourt is really suffering - with JJ Barea joining Suckey on the IR. McConnell will be asked to start next to Smart and they will have to staggar minutes to cover the PG spot, while an awkward combo of forwards will handle the remainder of the minutes at the 2. Rough sledding for a Cinderella team trying to hold a playoff spot out west.

Houston Rockets Yogi Ferrell (Waived in NBA), Hassan Whiteside (Ankle),
Yogi should be available soon, on a new 10 day contract - which is obviously the news here. Really though, this team needs Hassan back and soon! They're built as a 3 headed monster and they've really struggled to get there this season. They get a bit of a break with Enes Kanter in more ways than one: he broke his hand assaulting a chair earlier this week, but will play through the pain for a week before taking an extended leave for anger management.

Indiana Pacers Jeremy Lamb (Foot), Raul Neto (CD),
How would you like to add Steven Adams and Blake Griffin without trading away anyone? That's what has Sheed excited this week, with his starting frontcourt finally back together. For everything Tobias Harris has been for this team, Jeremy Lamb has struggled to even stay on the court - missing his 3rd straight week after starting 3 weeks for the Pacers.

LA Clippers Festus Ezeli (Knee), Joel Bolomboy (CD), Cody Zeller (Quad), DAngelo Russell (Knee),
Hood is back and will go straight into the starting lineup. But Cody Zeller and D'Angelo Russell are both important players for this team and will miss the week. Andrew is probably somewhat happy about this news, as it aids his quest in owning all of the top 10 draft picks.

LA Lakers Archie Goodwin (Waived in NBA), Josh Huestis (CD), Jonathon Simmons (Wrist),
Nothing to see here for the Champs. All of these guys would be riding the pine regardless. This is the stretch of the season where we see if the legend of greenmig's magic can do it again and raise this team from a collection of decent players to another unstoppable combination.

Memphis Grizzlies Chris Bosh (Blood Clots), Michael Gbinije (CD), Georgios Papagiannis (CD),
Franchise cornerstone PapaG will take an unfortunate break from dominating the boards. Darrell Arthur is back in action and will take up some of those minutes. Chris Bosh is still trying to figure out if he can ever play basketball, and Memphis seems content to let him take his time.

Miami Heat JR Smith (Thumb), Kyle Wiltjer (CD), Marshall Plumlee (CD), Rudy Gay (Achilles),
Sadly, this injury list has been most of Proid's season. They've made some good moves to make the on court product look decent, and have come away with a couple of wins lately, but while Gay and JR are both on this list the team just doesn't have enough scorers.

Milwaukee Bucks Wade Baldwin IV (D-League), Deyonta Davis (Personal),
Everything is going right in Milwaukee! KCP is back in action this week and the team is probably the hottest in the league (not 3rd hottest) - winning 9 of their last 10. They're now within striking distance of NY for the top spot in the East.

Minnesota Timberwolves R.J. Hunter (D-League), Jeremy Lin (Hamstring), Richaun Holmes (CD), Avery Bradley (Achilles), Wesley Matthews (Hip), Metta World Peace (CD),
Ouch. Matthews and Ron Artest join Hunter, Holmes, Bradley and Lin on the sidelines for the week. The top 4 options being out at SG force TJ Warren to venture into the backcourt. At least PG and a few of his best helpers are still healthy, but it's got to hurt to only have 8 active players in the middle of a playoff fight - especially after making a pretty huge deal to bring in additional depth.

New Orleans Pelicans Jahlil Okafor (Ankle), Isaiah Canaan (CD), Cheick Diallo (CD),
Pels have surprised a lot of people, sitting just on the outside of the playoffs currently. The 200 GM point man is back in action this week and should really solidify the bench unit. However's continued absence is still a huge blow. Sully looked great as a fill-in for his season debut, but this team would love to have some more depth inside and Okafor needs to be the cure for that.

New York Knicks Maurice Ndour (D-League), Gary Neal (CD),
Nothing to see here. Smooth sailing in NY, other than those Bucks breathing down their necks.

Oklahoma City Thunder Walter Tavares (Waived in NBA), Josh Richardson (Foot), Evan Fournier (Foot),
Unchanged from last week, and missing Fournier and Richardson hurts a little bit. But quit your whining nenjabin - your team is too deep as it is.

Orlando Magic DeMar DeRozan (Ankle), Ed Davis (Wrist),
Love and Zeller are back, DDR and Davis are out. That is a tough swap to make, and Orlando would love to have a full starting lineup as they currently occupy the last playoff spot in the East, but have a whole mess of teams that would love to unseat them. Rumor has it, javi is getting the trade itch. And you know what that means - lot's of sitting down.

Philadelphia 76ers Pau Gasol (Hand), Eric Gordon (Back), Deron Williams (Toe),
EGor and Deron join Pau in the Philly injury club this week The team actually looks better with Gobert, as they need his D more than Pau's O. But missing 3 rotation guys makes the bench behind that crazy starting lineup look a lot more human.

Phoenix Suns John Lucas (Waived in NBA), Omri Casspi (Calf), Al Horford (Groin),
Chandler and Noah are back, but now Horford is out. Phoenix would love to catch a break and get everyone on the court to try and hold off the teams behind them. It's been a bit of a disappointment for the Suns this season, but if they can get healthy and make a late push to stay in the playoffs, it would make fans forget the up and down start.

Portland Trail Blazers Brice Johnson (Back), Ian Mahinmi (Knee), Semaj Christon (CD), Lance Thomas (Face), Tyler Johnson (Shoulder), Jake Layman (D-League),
Nance Jr is back, but Tyler Johnson is out now. Things are a struggle in Portland right now, but Toby is doing what he can and saying all of the right things. They've lost 8 straight since a 2-2 showing in week 8.

San Antonio Spurs David West (Thumb), Delon Wright (CD), Maurice Harkless (Calf),
Bogut is back in action and AD has mostly avoided having his name here all year. West would be helpful, but will miss a 2nd straight week - kind of expected for a 36 year old vet. Harkless stings a bit more and Stanley Johnson will have to fill in and try to keep the best record in the league alive.

Sacramento Kings Hollis Thompson (Waived in NBA), Steve Novak (CD),
Hollis Thompson messed around and got himself waived. Novak doesn't need minutes on a team this good. All clear in SacTown.

Toronto Raptors Tiago Splitter (Hamstring),
Two weeks in a row with just Splitter on the sidelines. This is probably the healthiest rebuilding/bottom-tier team the league has seen in quite some time.

Utah Jazz Julius Randle (Illness),
Kilpatrick and Young are back, and Kilpatrick should get minutes off of the bench. Julius Randle will miss the week sick and the team hasn't announced how they'll handle the absence. Faried has been asked to do everything from SF to C, so he'll certainly have all that his can handle, along with Aldridge and WCS needing to do more with the talented Randle on the shelf.

Washington Wizards Jodie Meeks (Thumb),
Nene is back and it's just Jodie sitting out for now. With Rondo, Green, Melo, Kover, and Gasol all healthy - you would have thought the Wizards would be looking good considering how they started the season, however they're 3-7 in their last 10 and seem to be headed the wrong direction for a veteran team trying to make the playoffs. But they're still within reach and only need a strong week to turn it around.

TEAM	INJURIES
	Josh McRoberts (Foot), Justise Winslow (Shoulder), Chris Paul (Thumb), There is a lot of relief in ATL this week, with half of their week 10 injuries back among the walking. But it still hurts so bad seeing CP3 and Justise limping towards the bench every night (accompanied by McBob of course).
	Khris Middleton (Hamstring), Tim Quarterman (CD), Caris LeVert (Rest), The Middleton countdown has switched from months, to weeks, to days now - as wizkid needs to remind us in everything he does. LeVert would have hurt a few weeks ago, but the kid has seemingly fallen entirely out of the rotation after a great few weeks.
	Derrick Jones Jr. (CD), Kevin Seraphin (Knee), Brook Lopez (Rest), Kevin Seraphin will take Patrick Patterson's suit seat, but the real story here is that BroLo is taking a week off to rest. The Celts are trying to claw their way into a position where they have home court advantage in a playoff series and he's just taking nights off after they gave up so much to bring him in! Dedmon is not an acceptable replacement for one of the best post scorers in the league!
	Bruno Caboclo (CD), Dirk Nowitzki (Rest), Gary Harris is back, which will help the bench. But Dirk is tired of the trade speculation and is taking a rest. Maybe Digeze is relieved that he is because it makes the awkward lineup conversations and trade rumors a bit easier for the team to play through. But when you're a half game out of playoff position, you need everybody you can get.
	Trevor Booker (Rest), Dragan Bender (Ankle), A couple of end of bench guys are back, and now Dragan is out, but that is all just noise. The real story is Booker's continued absence. The guy has now rested on consecutive Friday's - something that will drive any GM mad. He's typically a starter on this team, and Mike Scott is being asked to do a lot for the Bulls without him. Fans aren't as mad as the GM though, as the Bulls have continued to win games.
	Brian Roberts (Illness), PK was determined that Parker would leave the injury list one way or another (traded to ORL, where he'll suit up in week 11). Now Brian Roberts is all alone at the end of the bench, and everybody else is happy.
	Jerryd Bayless (Wrist), Joe Harris (Ankle), Jarell Martin (CD), Emmanuel Mudiay (Back), Bayless is still out, and now he has a group of friends to hang out with. The most troubling of which is Emmanuel Mudiay. Newly acquired and healed point guard Cam Payne will get the start in Mudiay's absence as the team continues to search for somebody to pay the price for his backcourt mate Lou Williams.
	Troy Williams (D-League), Chinanu Onuaku (CD), All is well in Denver. There are a couple of injuries, but it's likely the guys that would be on the IR in any case - helpful when you have a pack of good teams chasing you for the 3 seed.
	Brandan Wright (Ankle), Ben Simmons (Foot), Diamond Stone (CD), Henry Ellenson (CD), The buzz around a Ben Simmons debut is near fever pitch, but we'll have to wait at least another week or two for that. The real news this week is that in addition to replacing their starting center with a trio of new faces, they will also be without starting power forward Henry Ellenson. Tristan Thompson will come in as a power forward with Cole Aldrich starting next to him at the five.
	Rodney Stuckey (Hamstring), Stephen Zimmerman (CD), Rodney Stuckey (Hamstring), Demetrius Jackson (D-League), Jose Barea (Calf), Luer and Deng are back, which is great news for their forward rotation. On the downside, their backcourt is really suffering - with JJ Barea joining Suckey on the IR. McConnell will be asked to start next to Smart and they will have to staggar minutes to cover the PG spot, while an awkward combo of forwards will handle the remainder of the minutes at the 2. Rough sledding for a Cinderella team trying to hold a playoff spot out west.
	Yogi Ferrell (Waived in NBA), Hassan Whiteside (Ankle), Yogi should be available soon, on a new 10 day contract - which is obviously the news here. Really though, this team needs Hassan back and soon! They're built as a 3 headed monster and they've really struggled to get there this season. They get a bit of a break with Enes Kanter in more ways than one: he broke his hand assaulting a chair earlier this week, but will play through the pain for a week before taking an extended leave for anger management.
	Jeremy Lamb (Foot), Raul Neto (CD), How would you like to add Steven Adams and Blake Griffin without trading away anyone? That's what has Sheed excited this week, with his starting frontcourt finally back together. For everything Tobias Harris has been for this team, Jeremy Lamb has struggled to even stay on the court - missing his 3rd straight week after starting 3 weeks for the Pacers.
	Festus Ezeli (Knee), Joel Bolomboy (CD), Cody Zeller (Quad), DAngelo Russell (Knee), Hood is back and will go straight into the starting lineup. But Cody Zeller and D'Angelo Russell are both important players for this team and will miss the week. Andrew is probably somewhat happy about this news, as it aids his quest in owning all of the top 10 draft picks.
	Archie Goodwin (Waived in NBA), Josh Huestis (CD), Jonathon Simmons (Wrist), Nothing to see here for the Champs. All of these guys would be riding the pine regardless. This is the stretch of the season where we see if the legend of greenmig's magic can do it again and raise this team from a collection of decent players to another unstoppable combination.
	Chris Bosh (Blood Clots), Michael Gbinije (CD), Georgios Papagiannis (CD), Franchise cornerstone PapaG will take an unfortunate break from dominating the boards. Darrell Arthur is back in action and will take up some of those minutes. Chris Bosh is still trying to figure out if he can ever play basketball, and Memphis seems content to let him take his time.
	JR Smith (Thumb), Kyle Wiltjer (CD), Marshall Plumlee (CD), Rudy Gay (Achilles), Sadly, this injury list has been most of Proid's season. They've made some good moves to make the on court product look decent, and have come away with a couple of wins lately, but while Gay and JR are both on this list the team just doesn't have enough scorers.
	Wade Baldwin IV (D-League), Deyonta Davis (Personal), Everything is going right in Milwaukee! KCP is back in action this week and the team is probably the hottest in the league (not 3rd hottest) - winning 9 of their last 10. They're now within striking distance of NY for the top spot in the East.
	R.J. Hunter (D-League), Jeremy Lin (Hamstring), Richaun Holmes (CD), Avery Bradley (Achilles), Wesley Matthews (Hip), Metta World Peace (CD), Ouch. Matthews and Ron Artest join Hunter, Holmes, Bradley and Lin on the sidelines for the week. The top 4 options being out at SG force TJ Warren to venture into the backcourt. At least PG and a few of his best helpers are still healthy, but it's got to hurt to only have 8 active players in the middle of a playoff fight - especially after making a pretty huge deal to bring in additional depth.
	Jahlil Okafor (Ankle), Isaiah Canaan (CD), Cheick Diallo (CD), Pels have surprised a lot of people, sitting just on the outside of the playoffs currently. The 200 GM point man is back in action this week and should really solidify the bench unit. However's continued absence is still a huge blow. Sully looked great as a fill-in for his season debut, but this team would love to have some more depth inside and Okafor needs to be the cure for that.
	Maurice Ndour (D-League), Gary Neal (CD), Nothing to see here. Smooth sailing in NY, other than those Bucks breathing down their necks.
	Walter Tavares (Waived in NBA), Josh Richardson (Foot), Evan Fournier (Foot), Unchanged from last week, and missing Fournier and Richardson hurts a little bit. But quit your whining nenjabin - your team is too deep as it is.
	DeMar DeRozan (Ankle), Ed Davis (Wrist), Love and Zeller are back, DDR and Davis are out. That is a tough swap to make, and Orlando would love to have a full starting lineup as they currently occupy the last playoff spot in the East, but have a whole mess of teams that would love to unseat them. Rumor has it, javi is getting the trade itch. And you know what that means - lot's of sitting down.
	Pau Gasol (Hand), Eric Gordon (Back), Deron Williams (Toe), EGor and Deron join Pau in the Philly injury club this week The team actually looks better with Gobert, as they need his D more than Pau's O. But missing 3 rotation guys makes the bench behind that crazy starting lineup look a lot more human.
	John Lucas (Waived in NBA), Omri Casspi (Calf), Al Horford (Groin), Chandler and Noah are back, but now Horford is out. Phoenix would love to catch a break and get everyone on the court to try and hold off the teams behind them. It's been a bit of a disappointment for the Suns this season, but if they can get healthy and make a late push to stay in the playoffs, it would make fans forget the up and down start.
	Brice Johnson (Back), Ian Mahinmi (Knee), Semaj Christon (CD), Lance Thomas (Face), Tyler Johnson (Shoulder), Jake Layman (D-League), Nance Jr is back, but Tyler Johnson is out now. Things are a struggle in Portland right now, but Toby is doing what he can and saying all of the right things. They've lost 8 straight since a 2-2 showing in week 8.
	David West (Thumb), Delon Wright (CD), Maurice Harkless (Calf), Bogut is back in action and AD has mostly avoided having his name here all year. West would be helpful, but will miss a 2nd straight week - kind of expected for a 36 year old vet. Harkless stings a bit more and Stanley Johnson will have to fill in and try to keep the best record in the league alive.
	Hollis Thompson (Waived in NBA), Steve Novak (CD), Hollis Thompson messed around and got himself waived. Novak doesn't need minutes on a team this good. All clear in SacTown.
	Tiago Splitter (Hamstring), Two weeks in a row with just Splitter on the sidelines. This is probably the healthiest rebuilding/bottom-tier team the league has seen in quite some time.
	Julius Randle (Illness), Kilpatrick and Young are back, and Kilpatrick should get minutes off of the bench. Julius Randle will miss the week sick and the team hasn't announced how they'll handle the absence. Faried has been asked to do everything from SF to C, so he'll certainly have all that his can handle, along with Aldridge and WCS needing to do more with the talented Randle on the shelf.
	Jodie Meeks (Thumb), Nene is back and it's just Jodie sitting out for now. With Rondo, Green, Melo, Kover, and Gasol all healthy - you would have thought the Wizards would be looking good considering how they started the season, however they're 3-7 in their last 10 and seem to be headed the wrong direction for a veteran team trying to make the playoffs. But they're still within reach and only need a strong week to turn it around.