So far this NBA season, a large number of stars have missed significant time due to injuries.
As it turns out, teams across the league believe that the unique circumstances of the 2020-21 season have been putting players under additional pressure and leading to an increase in injuries.
“It’s not clear that those factors are driving injuries this season, but many teams believe they are, even without supporting data,” Marc Stein of the New York Times reported. “Multiple teams I’ve consulted asserted that this season’s combination of schedule density, travel demands and daily coronavirus testing that cuts into players’ rest time have increased injury risk.”
The report comes on the heels of Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray being lost for the season due to a torn ACL.
A rather large number of other superstars have missed significant time this season as well. Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant missed weeks with a leg injury.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis have both been out for the Los Angeles Lakers for weeks as well.
With the regular season winding down, the hope is surely that everyone will remain healthy.
It will be interesting to see if that priority leads to coaches benching their stars in upcoming matchups.