Even before the first bogus “back spasms” show up on an injury report, it’s already the Year of Barely-Walking Wounded in the NBA.
Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard and Fred VanVleet are missing more than the season-opener next week. They’re done for the year.
Optimistic fans are counting the days to the returns of Jayson Tatum, Tyler Herro, Dejounte Murray and Kyrie Irving, but that requires more than fingers and toes. And LeBron James is finally acting his age, leaving open to guesswork when he might debut this season.
De’Aaron Fox, Jalen Green, Darius Garland, Keegan Murray, Zach Edey … heck, even T.J. McConnell won’t see the bright lights of Halloween.
Who’s next?
The Thunder begin the season healthy and a healthy choice to repeat as champions. But throw in injury comebacks and ex