Several NBA teams have already had a few monkey wrenches thrown in their direction with crucial injuries. It’s important to take note of these losses as they’ll have a big impact on the day-to-day betting in the early part of the season.
1. Paul George, Indiana Pacers
The fact that George is out for the whole season clearly makes this the biggest and most important injury in the NBA for the 2014-2015 season. The Indiana Pacers watched LeBron James leave the Miami Heat, and as a result, they had the right to think that they just might be able to break on through to the NBA Finals.
However, George subsequently got injured in the summer in a game in Las Vegas. The injury was suffered in the lead-up to the FIBA World Cup of Basketball with the United States men’s basketball team. With George in the lineup and healthy, the Pacers would have been a top-four team in the East and a definite contender to make the NBA Finals. The Pacers would have had the second-best defense in the conference behind the Chicago Bulls, and with no one knowing how well Derrick Rose will be able to hold up over the season, Indiana had a definite chance to face Cleveland in the East Finals. Now, Indiana will struggle just to make the playoffs. That’s a huge fall from being a No. 1 seed last season.
2. Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
Beal was just starting to come into his own as a great NBA player and was supposed to make this season a further confirmation of his arrival as a top-notch wing scorer. There are certain kinds of players who are so experienced and so comfortable, even at a young age, that if they get injured, they can still be expected to immediately bounce back once they return to the court.
Beal might not yet be established enough that he’ll enjoy a seamless transition once he returns to the court. The 21-year-old guard is scheduled to miss six weeks, the same as Kevin Durant for his injury, and while this injury should definitely not prevent Washington from making the playoffs, it could cost the Wizards five games or so. That might mean the difference between winning the Southeast Division and coming in second or even third behind Atlanta and Miami.
3. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
The Durant injury means less for the Thunder than the Beal injury means for the Wizards, because Oklahoma City is a much more reliable team with the experience and flexibility needed to play around an injury. Oklahoma City played around the Russell Westbrook injury last season and didn’t miss a beat because of the play of backup point guard Reggie Jackson, but Washington is not as adaptable, and Washington head coach Randy Wittman is not as proven as Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks. Durant might be out, but as a lot of basketball experts found out last season, Serge Ibaka was actually just as important to the Thunder as Durant, given his ability to play low-post defense. Oklahoma City will be fine without Durant in the early going as long as Westbrook and Ibaka are healthy.
4. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
The least significant injury of these four is the one to Rondo, because Boston is not a good enough team to make the playoffs even with Rondo in the mix. The Celtics have such a depleted roster as they try to recover from their massive post-2013 salary dump. The lack of depth on this team, and the poor quality of its bench, should limit Boston no matter what else might happen. Rondo will miss a few weeks, but even when he comes back, just how much can he do to improve this team?
