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Week 18 Injury Watch - The Road Home

TEAM	INJURIES
	Bryce Dejean-Jones (Wrist), Alexis Ajinca (Sternum), O.J. Mayo (Leg), No changes from last week.  Mayo and Dejean-Jones are gone for the season but Ajinca is said to be very close to a return.  The Hawks have no shortage of star power so will be considered a threat in any game.
	Jarrett Jack (Knee), Josh Huestis (CD), Danilo Gallinari (Ankle), Terrence Jones (Illness), Brooklyn gets back their most dominant piece this week as Cousins returns from a 1 week NLL suspension.  Terrence Jones is said to have recovered from his previous illness and is healthy, however, his medical staff thought he could rest another week with little left to play for.
	Gary Neal (Leg), Nikola Vucevic (Groin), Ty Lawson (Ankle), The Celtics are without some important pieces this week.  Vucevic misses again with his groin strain and Ty Lawson sits out with a sore ankle.  Both players are very close to a return as it seems medical staff want to take it easy with the playoffs just around the corner.  Neal looks like a longer term issue as he continues to struggle with a leg injury.
	Christian Wood (Waived in NBA), Elfrid Payton (Elbow), Phil Pressey (Waived in NBA), Aaron Harrison (D-League), Willie Reed (Knee), The Hornets are without their PG again this week and to make life even more interesting, the backup is now out this week as well.  With zero PG's the team has had to recall Aaron Harrison from the D-League to start with Hezonja filling a backup role for the third time this season.  It's also a 5-Game week for the Hornet's...Ouch!
	Jodie Meeks (Foot), Beno Udrih (Foot), Anthony Bennett (Waived in NBA), Kevon Looney (D-League), Meyers Leonard (Shoulder), Meyers Leonard is added to an already long injury list from last week for the Bulls.  His seperated shoulder could result in an extended stay on the sidelines with the team in no rush to bring him back.  Meeks and Udrih and just keeping each other company behind the bench at this stage.
	Serge Ibaka (Rest), With the Cavs 4 games behind the top seed and 4 games ahead of the fourth seed, they've decided to let Ibaka have the week off to rest up.  He will be back next week.
	The Mavericks get all hands back on deck this week with the return of Olynyk, McCallum and Louis Williams.  It's great timing for a teams that's just 1.5 games behind the LA Lakers for the top spot in the West.
	Lamar Patterson (CD), Kent Bazemore (Knee), The Nuggets get back James Young and Mitch McGary this week but lose Bazemore to a sore knee.  The injury is very minor and he's expected back next week.  The Nuggets are in a 6-team fight for seedings in the West Playoffs at the moment and will be pleased to see they are likely the least affected by injuries this week among teams in that race.
	Eric Bledsoe (Knee), Joakim Noah (Shoulder), Tiago Splitter (Hip), Nothing changes for the Pistons with the same three season ending injuries.  The Pistons are in their own exciting battle with Chicago, Portland and New Orleans (to Atlanta) for lottery balls.  Injuries are embraced by these teams, not frowned upon.
	Quincy Pondexter (Knee), Wilson Chandler (Hip), Greivis Vasquez (Ankle), Steve Novak (Knee), Nothing changes for the Warriors again this week.  The positive news is that Vasquez has finally been cleared to practice.  Will he make it back in time to get the last few games of the season in?
	Ian Mahinmi (Back), Gordon Hayward (Foot), The injury gods shake Houston's right hand and then slap him with the left.  Afflalo and Paul Pierce return this week but the Rockets lose their best backup big in Mahinmi as well as a star player in Hayward.  Not what you want when you're in a tight playoff race.  Both players are expected back next week but do the injury gods have another left-handed slap in store?
	Rakeem Christmas (D-League), Blake Griffin (Quad), Vince Carter (Calf), While the Pacers are still within striking distance of the East Playoffs, the Blake Griffin injuries completely derailed their season.  His quad is still playing up and even if he does return from injury,  he will need to sit out an additional week due to suspension.  Vince Carter misses just the 1-week due to a calf injury.
	Alec Burks (Ankle), DeMarre Carroll (Knee), Tibor Pleiss (CD), Festus Ezeli (Knee), Nikola Pekovic (Foot), The same 5 guys have been out for several weeks now for the Clippers and while Burks and Carroll are very close to returning, the teams GM has grown frustrated and just wants the offseason activity to kick into gear already.
	Jonathon Simmons (CD), James Johnson (Foot), Andre Iguodala (Ankle), The Lakers lose two valuable wing players this week in Johnson and Iguodala and both injuries are capable of extending past just the one week.  Plantar Fascitiis for Johnson usually requires extended rest and the coaching staff at the Lakers have said that having Iggy available for the Playoffs is the primary goal.  The positive is that the Lakers are always prepared and have great depth at the wing spots to cover themselves in the short-term.
	Jordan Adams (Knee), Dante Exum (Knee), Jarnell Stokes (Waived in NBA), Chris Bosh (Blood Clots), The medical staff have cleared Bosh of any blood clots but he's still unlikely to see the floor again this season for the Grizzlies.  Cunningham and Mike Scott return this week for the Grizz while Teague and Wes Matthews continue to find themselves on minute restrictions as Memphis completely out-tanks all it's closest rivals.
	DeJuan Blair (Waived in NBA), Everything is coming up Milhouse for the Heat at the right time with a full strength roster.  They've gone 7-1 in the last 2 weeks which is the right kind of form when you're battling for seeds heading towards the postseason.
	Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Ankle), Another team that is operating at full strength this week.  RHJ has only played 7 NLL games this season so it's not like the Bucks are dealling with anything new here.
	Tyreke Evans (Knee), Andrea Bargnani (Waived in NBA), Chris Copeland (Waived in NBA), Rasual Butler (Waived in NBA), Bradley Beal (Hip), Richaun Holmes (Achilles), Jeremy Evans (Shoulder), GM Javi has got to be feeling like he's been running up hill all season.  The Timberwolves are only 0.5 games out of the top 8 with 3 weeks remaining.  With the 3-8 seeds wide open every single loss is critical now.  Minny's long injury list had another two names added to it this week. Holmes has been solid but will miss the week with an achillies injury.  At this stage it should just be the one week.  Jeremy Evans is now out for the season after having surgery on his shoulder.
	T.J. Warren (Foot), Jahlil Okafor (Shin), Norris Cole (Back), Anthony Brown (Foot), Okafor has undergone surgery now and joins TJ Warren on the "out for the season" list.  Cole and Brown have no clear timetable to return and the only thing the Pelicans have to play for at this point is pride.
	Tyler Johnson (Shoulder), Mario Chalmers (Waived in NBA), Chalmers has had surgery now so won't be back at all while Johnson has a chance to make a playoff appearance if the Knicks can advance.  The return of John Henson this week is a great boost for the Knicks.
	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Shoulder), Walter Tavares (D-League), Robert Covington (Concussion), Jonas Valanciunas (Hand), The revolving door of injuries continues for the Thunder as players seem to be tagging each other into the Medic room like it's a wrestling match.  Jimmy Butler returns for OKC this week which is a huge boost.  It's largely negated though with the loss of Covington and Valanciunas.  Both players are expected to be healthy for next week but who will they be tagging back into the Dr's office?
	Cleanthony Early (Knee), Marshall returns for the Magic this week....so does the Electrician to fix a another TV screen in GM Laddas's office.
	Mo Williams (Knee), Ben McLemore (Finger), Omri Casspi (Ankle), Pau Gasol (Knee), Philly's injury list is extended this week with the addition of Casspi and Gasol,  Casspi is considered to be out for just the one week.  Gasol has told the media that he likely won't be 100% for the rest of the season but it won't stop him from taking the floor.  Updating previous injuries, The Sixers have said that Mo Williams is fine but they just want to be careful to ensure he's ready for the Playoffs.  McLemore is also close to a return.
	Cliff Alexander (CD), JaVale McGee (CD), Justin Harper (Waived in NBA), Not too much has changed for Phoenix.  Harper was released from the team anyway.  They do get CJ Miles back this week who has always been an impact player in the NLL.  At this point it may be too late anyway as they require two teams in front of them to basically run into a brick wall.
	Sam Dekker (Back), Joe Harris (CD), Kevin Garnett (Rest), P.J. Hairston (Groin), Both Waiters and Sacre return this week.  Waiters is a huge boost because he is capable of going on a scoring tear every now and then.  Considering the Blazers position in a tightly contested battle for lottery balls,  you can understand management quietly hoping for the shoot first guard to have some horrible nights.
	Joel Embiid (Foot), Spencer Dinwiddie (CD), Brandan Wright (Knee), Lance Thomas (Knee), News broke that the Spurs superstar, Anthony Davis, will make this week his final week of the year before undergoing surgeries on both his knee and shoulder.  It's been a see-saw ride for the Spurs this year with the team pulling the pin early when their star wasn't performing, then seeing him propel them back up the standings ready for a strong playoff push, only for him to now be out for the final two weeks + potential playoffs.
	Mike Conley (Foot), Conley is likely to miss the rest of the regular season so the Kings are relying on Clarkson to keep their ship afloat.  The West Playoff race is cutthroat at the moment so the youngster has a lot of pressure on him.
	Tony Wroten (Waived in NBA), Michael Carter-Williams (Knee/Hip), Zach Randolph (Knee), Jae Crowder (Ankle), Kobe Bryant (Shoulder), The Raptors get Lavoy Allen back this week but lose Crowder and Kobe Bryant.  Crowder should be back for the playoffs and Kobe is always going to be a 50-50 call from week to week.  Toronto's first round opponent in the playoffs will be sweating on that 50-50 call.  Updating previous injuries, Wroten and Carter-Williams won't play again this season while Zach Randolph will make his return next week.
	Branden Dawson (CD), Eric Gordon (Finger), Willie Cauley-Stein (Illness), Kenneth Faried (Back), Andrew Goudelock (CD), If we thought OKC was playing tag team with injuries, Utah is yelling "side away" at the end of the week.  Joseph Young, Bogdanovic,  Harrell and Derrick Rose all return from injury this week.  They are replaced on the IR by Cauley-Stein and Faried who are both considered day-to-day.  Their two new signings, Dawson and Goudelock are both unavailable to play this week.
	Marc Gasol (Foot), Spencer Hawes (Back), Chris Andersen (Shoulder), Jameer Nelson (Wrist), Alan Anderson (Ankle), It's a long injury list but not much is new for the Wizards.  They waived Wittington and picked up Marble for some immediate minutes.  Alan Anderson is the only new name this week.  He sits out with a sore ankle but is expected to make a return next week.

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