2 min read • April 18, 2025
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#1 Seed - Oklahoma City Thunder
Chet Holmgren was the biggest injury they’ve had this season when he fractured his right iliac in his hip. He missed 39 straight games and a handful throughout the rest of the season, but has otherwise recovered and has played well. Currently, they’re biggest injury concern is Jaylin Williams, he sustained a left ankle sprain on April 13, exited and did not return. Jalen Williams has missed a handful of games, as has Alex Caruso with ankle injuries, but at the moment there are no players on the teams injury report.
#2 Seed - Houston Rockets
The Rockets were a relatively healthy team throughout most of the season and are pretty fully healthy now. Jae Sean Tate has been week-to-week with an ankle injury and missed the last two regular season games. Jabari Smith Jr has a groin injury and missed the final three games, but with over a week’s rest, both should be good to go.
#3 Seed - Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have had their fair share of injuries, yet finished the season ranked 13th in games missed due to injury. LeBron James has had the most recent injury scare, tweaking his already injured groin in the second to last regular season game, he exited and did not return and missed the final regular season. All indications are that his groin is fine and there don’t appear to be any concerns. Mid-season acquisition Luka Doncic missed some time from a calf strain sustained while he played in Dallas, since playing in Los Angeles, he’s missed some games due to rest but he’s recovered from the calf strain. Rui Hachimura could be the injury x-factor for the Lakers, he’s missed some time with left patellar tendinopathy, but with some rest, he should be fine for the first round.
#4 Seed - Denver Nuggets
Jamal Murray missed six of the last eight regular season games with a hamstring injury, but played his regular rotation in the final two games. He’s off the injury report now and appears to be a full go for the first round vs the Clippers. Otherwise, the Nuggets injury report is fully clean on the eve of the playoffs.
#5 Seed - Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi Leonard has been the biggest injury concern for the Clippers the last few years and this season didn’t make his debut until January 4th and he slowly returned to form. But return to form he has, and his ability to stay healthy will determine if the Clippers can get past the Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Aside from Leonard, the Clippers have been very healthy, Norman Powell missing 22 games is their second most injured rotation player but has only missed one game since mid-March.
#6 Seed - Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves were the healthiest team in the Western Conference, with no regular rotation player having missed more than 20 games. Currently, there are no players on their injured list and have all players available.
#7 Seed - Golden State Warriors
Steph Curry has injured the thumb on his shooting hand in each of the last two games the Warriors have played. He’s appeared to be in a lot of pain during the last two games but it hasn’t appeared to affect his shooting, having made 13 3pt shots during those games. If the thumb does affect his shooting at any point, it would severely affect the Warriors chances of advancing past the Rockets.
#8 Seed - Memphis Grizzlies
The final spot in the Western Conference will be determined by the winner of this matchup, and each team does have their own injury concerns, notably Ja Morant being the most serious. Ja Morant badly sprained his ankle during the first play-in game vs Golden State and returned after heading back to the locker room but had a strong limp. He played through in a win versus the Mavericks while reportedly receiving multiple injections before tip-off. Will continue to play through injury in next round but not yet 100% healthy.
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