BBNBA: An Injury-Riddled Night in the NBA

ZGeogheganKSR

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(Photo via NBAE/Getty Images)[/caption] Good morning, folks. Three former Kentucky stars sat out on Saturday night due to various injuries. Let's talk NBA.

RECAP

Anthony Davis (finger), Julius Randle (ankle), and Jamal Murray (ankle) were all sidelined with nagging injuries as we enter the backend of the NBA schedule. Davis could potentially return next week while Randle's timetable is still undetermined. Davis has now missed the previous four games for the New Orleans Pelicans in which the team has gone 1-3, including the loss on Saturday night to the San Antonio Spurs, who were without their star player, DeMar DeRozan.
''I still say eventually we'll be healthy enough and have enough guys that we're going to make a run at it,'' Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said following the loss. ''We've proven when we're healthy that we're pretty good.''
Well, that's kind of the issue right there. They are never healthy. New Orleans is currently 14th in the West and 5.5 games out of the final playoff spot with 32 games left. There is still enough time for them to put a run together and potentially pull this thing off and make the playoffs, but time is running out fast and all these injuries could have a drastic effect on how the Pelicans go about the trade deadline, which is now less than two weeks away. Along with Davis and Randle, starters Nikola Mirotic and E'Twaun Moore also sat out, as did Elfrid Payton. Five starting caliber players, all watching from the bench.
For Murray in Denver, his rolled ankle from earlier in the week appears to be worse than initially thought. He sat out the Nuggets win over the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers, only the second time in his three-year career Murray has missed a game.
''I'm worried about it,'' Nuggets head coach Mike Malone said. ''He's [Murray] been battling the ankle for a little while now and just when it was starting to feel really good he rolls it once again. I saw it this afternoon. It was really, really swollen. So, he'll continue to get treatment round-the-clock, and we'll see about his availability in Memphis.''
As for the players who were in action, we'll start with DeMarcus Cousins and the Golden State Warriors, who escaped Boston with a tight win over the Celtics. In a game that saw the lead change teams 21 different times, Cousins scored 15 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals. He was limited to only 24 minutes as he continues to battle constant foul trouble, but that's something he'll readapt to once he gets in a rhythm. Saturday night was also the one-year anniversary of Cousins tearing his Achilles as a member of the Pelicans.

Trey Lyles added seven points and three rebounds for the Nuggets while Darius Miller dropped in 11 points and three assists for the Pelicans.

STATISTICS

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TONIGHT IN THE NBA

3:30: Cavaliers @ Bulls 3:30: Kings (Cauley-Stein, Fox, Labisierre) @ Clippers (Gilgeous-Alexander) 6:00 (ESPN): Bucks (Bledsoe) @ Thunder (Diallo, Noel, Patterson) 7:00: Magic (Briscoe-questionable) @ Rockets (Knight-questionable) 7:00: Jazz @ Timberwolves (Towns) 7:00: Wizards (Wall-out) @ Spurs 7:30: Heat (Adebayo) @ Knicks (Kanter, Knox) 9:30: Suns (Booker) @ Lakers (Rondo)

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