NBA Players to Keep an Eye On As Playoffs Approach

Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks) - Recently missed 15 consecutive games with a sprained right ankle sustained vs the Lakers on March 6th, he’s since returned for three games at his regular workload and hasn’t lost any production, however he is listed as questionable in all games to end the regular season, the Knicks haven’t locked up the #3 seed and could drop to as low as fifth so they might not be in a position to rest starters yet

Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics) - Jaylen Brown was a surprise addition to the injury report with a knee injury and the Celtics haven’t been specific to the nature of the injury, but on March 6th and 8th he was limited to 22 minutes, though one was a blowout, and sat the second night of a back to back on March 9th, the Celtics locked up the 2 seed and will likely rest some starters for the final two games of the regular season

Alex Caruso (Oklahoma City Thunder) - The All-Defensive Team stopper for OKC has missed 23 games this season due to various injuries and is currently dealing with a minor right ankle sprain, he comes off the bench and is an essential part of Oklahoma City’s defensive scheme so if he’s unable to go, it could impact Oklahoma City’s second unit defensively as well as their outside shooting as he’s a 36% shooter from outside this season

LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) - Has been dealing with a few nagging injuries this season to his foot but has recently missed 7 games due to a left groin strain, that injury conjured up memories of his 2018 groin strain that saw him miss 17 games but it wasn’t that serious, he’s since returned for 11 straight games at over 30 minutes in each game so he appears to have recovered fully, the Lakers locked up the 3 seed with a win over the Rockets on Friday, but James did exit the game when it appeared he aggravated his left groin injury, he did not return with the game well in hand and he appeared to be in good spirits on the bench with an ice pack on his groin

Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets) - Listed as questionable for Friday's game vs the Grizzlies on March 11, Murray has missed six consecutive contests due to a hamstring injury and was likely to be sidelined for a seventh after initially being listed as doubtful for Friday's game, Denver is currently 4th in the standings but could fall as low as 8th depending on how the rest of the games play out for seeds 4-8 in the West

Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers) - Mitchell will miss a third straight game due to an ankle sprain he sustained during Sunday's win over the Kings, he was able to return to that game following a brief exit, but the severity remains unclear, with the Cavaliers locked into the top seed in the Eastern Conference, they can afford to be cautious with their superstar guard

Damian Lillard (Milwaukee Bucks) - Lillard is trending in the right direction after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his right calf on March 25, he’s recently been given clearance to participate in some basketball activities, but there is no timeline for his return at this time, he’s considered week-to-week

Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors) - He exited the penultimate game of the regular season when he jammed his right hand on the knee of an opposing player in the first quarter. He did return and ended up playing 27 minutes, so it may not be of much concern. He proved that in the final game when he scored 36 points on 7 3-point makes and didn't miss any of his 9 free-throw attempts, so his hand is likely a non-issue.

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