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Week 4 Injury Watch

TEAM	INJURIES
	T.J. Warren (Foot), Spencer Dinwiddie (Knee), Gary Harris (Thigh), Abdel Nader (Ankle), New: Abdel Nader Back: Adam Mokoka While still without three fairly important players (Warren, Dinwiddie, Harris), the Hawks managed a 3-0 week. They add Abdel Nader to the injury list and get Adam Mokoka back. Neither of whom play a significant role for the team.
	Caris LeVert (Kidney), Jahlil Okafor (Knee), DeAaron Fox (Knee), New: DeAaron Fox Back: None The addition of Fox to the injury list will certainly be felt as he's the team's third leading scorer with 16.7 ppg, and the leading facilitator with 8.5 assists. Fortunately for the Nets, they have what should be a fairly easy week for them, particularly with the Suns losing Durant again this week.
	Chris Silva (Hip), George Hill (Thumb), Theo Maledon (Illness), Paul George (Foot), New: None Back: Jonas Valanciunas Still without Hill and George, the Celtics continue to struggle with some significant injuries. But they do get Jonas Valanciunas back in the lineup which should certainly help in what will be a very challenging week as they face the Thunder and the Wizards (who get Ben Simmons back) in week 4.
	Frank Jackson (Illness), Jrue Holiday (Illness), New: Frank Jackson, Jrue Holiday Back : Eric Paschall, David Nwaba  Two guys out, two guys in. And Holiday is the notable one here. Though the Hornets have him coming off of the bench, he's the fourth leading scorer on the team and averaging 24 minutes/game. The Hornets do have to face the Sixers this week, who handed them their only loss back in week 1. Fun fact: the leading scorer for the Hornets in that game against the Sixers? Jrue Holiday.
	Patrick McCaw (Knee), P.J. Dozier (Hamstring), PJ Washington (Foot), DAngelo Russell (Leg), PJ Washington (Ankle), New: DAngelo Russell Back: DaQuan Jeffries, Raul Neto Getting Neto back helps, particularly with Russell going out. Of course, the lowest scoring player on the team will not be much of a substitution for the highest scoring player on the team. But with Dozier also out, the point guard options are pretty limited for the Bulls
	Jay Scrubb (Foot), Kris Dunn (Ankle), Zach Collins (Ankle), Jaren Jackson Jnr (Knee), Aaron Gordon (Ankle) New: None Back: Luguentz Dort Getting Dort back should help the Cavs with some option, but they are still without several significant players. Fortunately, Cleveland has a fairly light week, with games against the Kings, T-Wolves and Raptors without Beal or Aldridge.
	Wendell Carter Jr (Thigh), Otto Porter (Back), Caleb Martin (Illness), Marvin Bagley III (Calf), New: Caleb Martin, Marvin Bagley III Back: None The new GM certainly isn't being done any favors with Bagley and Martin joining Carter and Porter on the list. Bagley should be back for week five barring anything unexpected and Martin is being held out for health and safety protocols. It sounds like Carter could be back soon as well, but Porter's timetable for return is still unknown.
	Jonathan Isaac (Knee), Greg Whittington (Knee), Mason Plumlee (Elbow), Mike Conley (Hamstring), Udoka Azubuike (Ankle) New: Mason Plumlee, Mike Conley, Udoka Azubuike Back: None Going's been rough for the Nuggets and it's only about to get rougher with Conley getting sidelined. Losing both Plumlee and Azubuike seriously depletes the frontcourt. And with week 4 schedule facing DeMarcus Cousins, Al Horford, and the Anthony Davis/Montrezl Harrell combo, Denver's probably going to get pushed around a bit.
	Alen Smailagic (Knee), Klay Thompson (Knee), Cole Anthony (Shoulder), New: Cole Anthony Back: None Nothing of much note here. Cole Anthony is only playing 8 minutes/game so the Pistons won't be terribly hampered by his absence. Good thing because Detroit could use a strong week to get themselves back on track after losing 3 of 4. And this appears to be a good week to do that, as they face the Pelicans, Lakers, and Bulls.
	Bogdan Bogdanovic (Knee), New: None Back: None Nobody new on the injury list for the Warriors, which is a good thing. But they'd undoubtedly like to get Bogdan back on the floor, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon. He has started some light running again, but there is no concrete timetable for his return.
	None New: None Back: None Two weeks in a row at full health. That's unheard of these days. Unfortunately, the Rockets were completely healthy last week and dropped three of four. They'll surely make some adjustments to take advantage of this healthy streak and get some wins. But their work will be cut out for them as they will have to face both San Antonio and Milwaukee this week.
	C.J. McCollum (Foot), Iman Shumpert (Hamstring), New: Iman Shumpers Back:  Naji Marshall, Wayne Ellington The Pacers only got Shumpert for a week after signing him before he found his way on the injured list. He's not a huge loss but he was getting 18 minutes/game last week. But they do get Ellington back so that should fill that spot nicely. No word yet on McCollum's return. But for Indiana, as long as Luka's healthy, they're happy.
	OG Anunoby (Calf), Kemba Walker (Rest), New: Kemba Walker Back: Jaylen Brown, Victor Oladipo The Clippers will be thrilled to get Brown and Oladipo back in the lineup this week. Not that it mattered much considering that they easily won all three games without them. They do lose Walker for week four and they have a couple potentially difficult games against New York and San Antonio. Looks like one of their other half dozen all-stars will have to pick up the slack in his absence.
	Kostas Antetokounmpo (Knee), Elijah Hughes (Ankle), James Wiseman (Wrist), Christian Wood (Ankle), New: Christian Wood Back: None First Wiseman, now Wood. That is going to take its toll. After getting through week 2 at .500, they lost Wiseman in week 3 and dropped four straight. Now they lose Wood as well and face OKC, Dallas, and Detroit in week 4. Wood has an ankle sprain but is listed as out indefinitely. There's a chance Wiseman could be back for week 5, but that seems optimistic.
	Marcus Smart (Calf), Killian Tillie (Foot), Sean McDermott (Shoulder), DeAnthony Melton (Shoulder), Shake Milton (Ankle), New: DeAnthony Melton, Shake Milton Back: Karl-Anthony Towns, Terrance Ferguson Towns finally makes his first appearance of the year and the Grizzlies must be thrilled. Though they're still without Marcus Smart, and now they lost Shake Milton, who's been their second leading scorer this season. But they just picked up Buddy Hield, so Shake's minutes were probably going down anyway. Just not this far down.
	Rajon Rondo (Back), Jordan Nwora (Ankle), Desmond Bane (Personal), New: Rajon Rondo, Jordan Nwora, Desmond Bane, Back: Ty Jerome This is a tough week to lost Rondo. He contributes in so many areas, particularly defensively. And with matchups against Milwaukee and Indiana, Rondo's veteran leadership could come in real handy here. They do get Jerome back for a little depth for whatever that's worth.
	Killian Hayes (Hip), Romeo Langford (Wrist), Jusuf Nurkic (Wrist), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Knee), Sekou Doumbouya (Concussion), New: Sekou Doumbouya Back: Onyeka Okongwu, Trae Young, Nassir Little Milwaukee gets three players back from the injured list, the most notable being Trae Young. Oh, what a relief because in week 3, they had a real nail-biter of a win and barely won by 15. Now with Trae back, they should be able to get back to winning by 40 every game.
	Kevin Love (Calf), Avery Bradley (Illness), Maurice Harkless (Thigh), Larry Nance Jr. (Wrist), New: None Back: None No changes on the injury list for the T-Wolves. Apparently, there "should be an update on Love's status soon" which says pretty much nothing. The information is no more clear for Bradley or Nance as they are both out with no clear timetable on their return.
	Jarrett Culver (Ankle), New: None Back: None The same injury status as weeks two and three. Culver was fairly inconsequential in week one so his absence hasn't been a huge detriment to the team. But the Pelicans would certainly like to get him back on the floor to improve their depth. It's sounding like he could potentially be back soon which will be welcome news for New Orleans.
	Mike Scott (Knee), Frank Mason (Groin), Goran Dragic (Ankle), New: Frank Mason, Goran Dragic Back: Juan Hernangomez New York had all of their key players in place last week and they rolled to a 3-0 week. And though he didn't contribute a ton of points, Dragic was in the starting PG role this past week. They can move Lonzo into the starting PG slot, but they are facing a monster week against the Sixers, Clippers, and Suns. And they're going to need all the help they can get.
	Marquese Chriss (Leg), Frank Ntilikina (Illness), Cody Martin (Illness), New: Frank Ntilikina, Cody Martin Back: None Ntilikina and Martin aren't overly consequential losses as neither of those guys get much playing time. So the Thunder should be fine without them in what should be a fairly easy week for Oklahoma City. What's remarkable is that we're four weeks in and they haven't had to do without Kawhi and his penchant for "rest days." You'd think he'd have missed a Friday game already. Gotta be one coming soon.
	Nicolas Claxton (Knee), Thomas Bryant (Knee), New: None Back: Patrick Beverley The Magic get Beverley back at an ideal time. As a defender, he has a knack for frustrating opposing point guards. And he'll be guarding three of the leagues best in Doncic, Curry and CP3. Beverley might not stop them, but he should be able to disrupt them a bit.
	None New: None Back: Derrick Rose, Damian Lillard, Rudy Gay The Sixers had to manage week 3 without their starting and backup point guards, and their starting small forward, and they struggled mightily. Oh, actually, no they didn't. They coasted to three more easy wins, remaining undefeated. This week may pose a bit more of a challenge, as they take on the Hornets again. So having the team at full strength should put Philly in a position to stay undefeated for yet another week.
	Brandon Clarke (Calf), Kevin Durant (Illness), New: Brandon Clarke (Calf), Kevin Durant (Illness),  Back: Michael Carter-Williams The Suns get Durant healthy for one week, and then he's promptly back on the injury list. And they're losing Clarke too which is going to put them in a bind at the PF spot. They do get MCW back but that's not going to help their frontcourt needs. Both Clarke and Durant should be back for week 5 (hopefully), but Phoenix is going to have to face Brooklyn and New York without them.
	Anzejs Pasecniks (Waived in NBA), DeÁndre Hunter (Knee), Daniel Oturu (Quad), Lauri Markkanen (Shoulder), New: Daniel Oturu, Lauri Markkanen Back: Derrick Jones, Jr. Losing Markkanen is not going to make the struggling Blazers' job any easier this week. He hasn't been great this year but he's an integral piece of their starting lineup. They haven't notched a win since week one and Markkanen being in the lineup wouldn't necessarily mean that they'd be getting one this week either. But it would have improved their chances.
	None New: None Back: None The Spurs appear to have finally found that groove that's got them on a winning streak. Now with two weeks in a row of a fully healthy roster, they hope to keep that streak rolling. However, they're going to have to face the Clippers in week 4 and, healthy or not, that's a tall order. Some troubling news is that Anthony Davis aggravated an achilles issue that kept him out for a few games earlier this season. Hopefully, it's nothing serious but that could spell trouble for San Antonio if this becomes a recurring thing.
	Al-Farouq Aminu (Knee), Trevor Ariza (Personal), Kevon Looney (Ankle), New: Al-Farouq Aminu Back: None The Kings acquired the injured Aminu this week in a trade with the Bulls. It looks like he could be ready to play by next week if all goes well. Ariza won't be playing anytime soon so he can be written off. Looney is scheduled to be re-evaluated this week and we'll have a better idea of his projected return after that.
	Cameron Payne (Foot), Jordan Bell (Waived in NBA), LaMarcus Aldridge (Hip), Bradley Beal (Rest), New: Bradley Beal Back: None The Raptors fell off a cliff without LMA, and now they lose Beal too. Things are not looking good for this team as we watching them plummet down the Eastern Conference standings. Beal and Payne should be back in week 5 but no word yet on Aldridge.
	Markelle Fultz (Knee), Justise Winslow (Hip), New: None Back: None The Jazz have been without Fultz and Winslow (is this guy ever healthy?) all season, and they looked just fine in week 3 as they rolled off three straight wins, including a 112-69 waxing of the Mavericks. Dallas is even worse off this week as they're now without Bagley too. But Utah does have a matchup against Milwaukee, so let's toss that in the loss column.
	Robert Williams (Hip), Chandler Hutchison (Personal), Evan Fournier (Back), Dario Saric (Illness), New: Robert Williams, Chandler Hutchison, Evan Fournier Back: Jared Dudley, Ben Simmons  Getting Ben Simmons back is exactly what the Wizards need to get back in the win column. They're riding a five game losing streak and could use some wins. They're matching up against Boston, Minnesota and Portland in week 4. All of which should be winnable games, even without the trio of Williams, Hutchison and Fournier.

Week 1 Injury Watch · Week 2 Injury Watch · Week 3 Injury Watch · Week 4 Injury Watch · Week 5 Injury Watch · Week 6 Injury Watch · Week 7 Injury Watch · Week 8 Injury Watch - KD, Luka, AD, Simmons out! · Week 10 Injury Watch · Week 11 Injury Watch · Week 12 Injury Watch · Week 13 Injury Watch · Week 13 Injury Watch- Curry, Fox, Ingram, Williamson · Week 14 Injury Watch - KD, Harden, Giannis, Luka and Kawhi all return!! · Week 16 Injury Watch · Week 17 Injury Watch - Playoffs are near! ·