Although the NBA season is just over a week old, several teams appear to be solidly establishing themselves as contenders or pretenders in their respective conferences. However, this season features more contenders facing injury problems early in the season than in years past, giving their rivals an opportunity to leap ahead of them in the early playoff race. These injury subplots will undoubtedly rear their ugly heads in several teams' quests for a successful start to the season.
The most notorious absence before the season's commencement was that of Amare Stoudamire of the Phoenix Suns. Stoudamire had microfracture surgery on his left knee three weeks ago and can't resume playing until at least February. It is the same procedure that permanently damaged the careers of Penny Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn and Chris Webber, and its results for Stoudamire, one of the games most talented young players, are uncertain.
After posting the best record in the Western Conference last season, Phoenix will have to cope without its most explosive scorer in a lineup that is lacking frontcourt depth. If Steve Nash and Company can hold their ground until Amare returns, they should be primed for a playoff run. However, if they struggle, or if Stoudamire can't return to last year's form, the Suns are in danger of ending their season much earlier then they had planned.
The Houston Rockets are expected to challenge for the Western Conference title, as they added some much-needed depth in the offseason, and finally have a well-rested Yao Ming for the upcoming season. However, their star player, guard Tracy McGrady, will be sidelined for up to three weeks with back spasms. T-Mac has been plagued by back problems since early in his career playing for the Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors.
While McGrady won't be gone for a large portion of the season, Houston can't afford to fall far behind in a division that includes the defending champion San Antonio Spurs and a 2005 title contender, the Dallas Mavericks. The Rockets have high hopes for this season and will be tested early on to see if they can compensate for T-Mac's absence.
Another Western Conference team with injury problems is the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets surprisingly went 32-8 after George Karl took over as head coach last season and played the Spurs tough in the playoffs before bowing out in five games. However, they weren't going to sneak up on anybody this year, and expectations were high in Denver. That is, until forward Nene Hilario was lost for the season with a torn ACL.
While the Nuggets' frontcourt has taken a modest hit as a result, it was widely rumored that Nene would be packaged in a trade to acquire a better option at shooting guard. Despite the return of Voshon Lenard, Denver could use a more complete player at the off-guard position to round out an already stellar starting five. This loss is more significant for Nene's potential trade value than for what he contributed on the court, as the Nuggets still feature an impressive frontcourt of Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby.
While Western Conference teams have been hurt more by injuries thus far, the injury bug has spread to the East as well. After losing in the Eastern Conference Finals and making several changes to the roster in the offseason, expectations for the Miami Heat were high once again. But the loss of Shaquille O'Neal to an ankle injury for two to four weeks gives them an early season obstacle that this recently assembled team was not expecting to have to deal with.
O'Neal, who may still be the league's most dominant player, teamed with Dwyane Wade to make the Heat a legitimate contender last year. In addition to his individual statistics, Shaq frees up the floor for his teammates, especially Udonis Haslem and Antoine Walker, who join him in the frontcourt. For a Miami squad looking to gel following significant roster changes in the offseason, this injury could either provide a spark for the team or dig a hole for the Heat early in the season.
These key injuries in this young season will challenge some of the league's better squads to overcome the absence of key players. The way these injury-riddled contenders respond now will go a long way to determining the NBA playoff picture in seven months.
