The NBA playoffs are finally here—but not everybody is hitting the postseason at full strength.
Injuries are an indelible part of professional sports (as well as basketball’s lengthy 82-game season). Every postseason there are a few big names who are nursing some kind of injury as they enter the most important part of the calendar, and just how severe that ailment is can determine the course of the championship race. One need not look far for proof of concept there; during the 2024 playoffs, Jaylen Brown’s knee injury and Aaron Gordon’s hamstring problems carried over from the regular season and helped tilt playoff series—to the cost of their teams.
