Our NBA Injury Of The Day is brought to you by the G League: Eventually, All You'll Have Left Is Us.
Today's IOTD is Chet Holmgren's fractured pelvis, which, given that he just played in his 100th career NBA game Friday night, almost sounds like he is using his grandfather's bones to carry his skin. He contested an Andrew Wiggins shot less than six minutes into Sunday's early-season marquee stealer between Golden State and Oklahoma City and fell hard to the floor, limped off, and won't even be evaluated again before mid-January at the earliest. Now that we're all more seasoned in the way of evaluating injury evaluations, that means he won't be back until early February.
Now the unbearably cynical of you might say this is karma for "What A Pro Wants," but in fact Holmgren is merely the newest in an All-Star Weekend's litany of injuries that is almost uncanny for both its selection criteria and persistence. This past weekend alone, the IOTD had multiple entries, including Kevin Durant (calf), Ja Morant (hip), Zion Williamson (hamstring) and Bradley Beal (still an asterisk based on only having X-rays on his knee), plus previous entries from Tyrese Maxey, Miles Bridges, Paolo Banchero, Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Brown, Aaron Gordon, Khris Middleton, Dejounte Murray, Isaiah Hartenstein, Lonzo Ball, Stephen Curry, Scottie Barnes, and Jeremy Sochan.
By the way, IOTD is brought to you by Kawhi Leonard, our founder and president emeritus.
Many reasons have been suggested for this carnage, but because the injuries cover a wide swath of experience, this seems like absurdly bad luck more than anything else. You want theories, go to Inside the NBA. They'll give you theories, especially since they're all technically day-to-day with the show itself. The older the theorist, of course, the more likely you'll hear Because they're weak and shameless and not like Wilt Chamberlain and we hate them. Medical people (including some trainers) suggest that the demands of the new game, including playing faster and covering more of the court on every possession. And let's not forget the indisputable power of dumb-ass luck. Holmgren missed his entire rookie year with a foot injury but played all 82 last season which makes him that rarest of creatures: the iron man who has played 53 percent of his games.
Holmgren seems to be in decent spirits, having released a statement described as "thoughts from da hospital bed."
Can’t tell if I feel better or worse about this having been through something similar before. On one hand I know how to approach it, I know what to do, what not to do and how beautiful the other side is. But on the other hand I’ve felt the frustration of this process, and the wear it puts on your mind. Most of all I’m hurt I can’t help my teammates and play for our fans and supporters for a while. Everyone who sticks with me and our team, along with my need for hoops, is a big part of my passion to return. Don’t pity me or feel bad, there’s lots of people out there rn with real problems that don’t heal. Anyways excuse my rambling just wanted to address our okc fans and family
Thoughts from da hospital bed
-7Chet Holmgren
Holmgren's play suggested the sort of thing players do in games they perceive as big, even though it is Veterans Day in a season that doesn't truly get going until Christmas. The Warriors navigated the first true gauntlet of the year, winning at 9-2 Boston, getting hammered at 11-0 Cleveland, and beating 8-2 OKC since Wednesday, and they are an early revelation in that they did as well in those three games as anyone could rightfully expect, and won all three games they played before that without Curry (ankle).
As for the Thunder, they will now have to play small as well as sad, because they were already working without Hartenstein (broken finger). It may be revelatory that Cleveland is 11-0 in small part because the only player of note they are missing is Max Strus. And that may be the real takeaway here: Pro basketball is defined increasingly by injuries more than the stuff that creates injuries. And if you doubt that, remember this is Injury Of The Day ... brought to you by Joel Embiid, our icon and inspirational leader. We'd say "leader in the clubhouse," but he's only seen the clubhouse this year in part by design, and besides, basketball calls it a locker room.
Or more accurately, a training room with some lockers.
