A plague of injuries is sweeping the NBA and in recent days it has been hitting some of its stars particularly hard. Zion Williamson and Ja Morant are now joined by Kevin Durant, who will be out for two weeks with a left calf strain. It’s a blow for the Suns, who were enjoying a great start to the season: they led the West just behind the Thunder and, with an 8-1 record, only the Cavaliers were ahead of them in the entire NBA.
The Phoenix franchise star was injured in Friday’s win over the Dallas Mavericks. He is scheduled to be re-evaluated in two weeks, but for now his team will be without his 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. It’s time for Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic to step up to make up for such an important absence.
Kevin Durant opens up: Exclusive BTS look at NBA superstar
Shortly before Durant’s injury was announced, it was revealed that Ja Morant will also be out for a couple of weeks. In his case, it is due to a fall suffered in the game against the Lakers. He has a pelvis injury. The Grizzlies point guard was only able to play nine games last season. First due to a 25-game suspension imposed by the NBA for displaying firearms and then due to a shoulder injury. In preseason, he also twisted an ankle in an unfortunate action in which he stepped on the ball when he was running to defend a counterattack. So far he was averaging 20.6 points and 9.1 assists.
Zion Williamson’s injuries
And of all these new star injuries, the most worrying is Zion Williamson’s. Not because of the injury, but because of the precedents of his medical record and the uncertainties about his return. That “indefinite absence” has already been suffered several times in his career. He now suffers from a muscle problem in his left leg that will worsen his percentage of games since he arrived in the NBA. Of the 400 games the Pelicans have played since he arrived, he has only been able to participate in 190. In the six he played this season he had averages of 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
These illustrious injured players could add Paolo Banchero, who fell recently, to Joel Embiid, Kristaps Porzingis and Kawhi Leonard, who have not even made their debut this season, to Bogdan Bogdanovic, Miles Bridges, Aaron Gordon, Dejounte Murray, Tyrese Maxey… Among them all you could make an All-Star in the infirmary.
