After getting blasted by the recent GM survey, the Golden State Warriors are receiving another potshot from observers who claim they only got lucky last season.
NBC Sports wrote that a number of the Warriors' rivals have dismissed the team's successful run last season, which concluded with the Warriors winning its first NBA championship title after 40 years. These people pointed out that the Warriors were lucky that a number of stronger teams saw their key players sidelined due to injuries.
Oklahoma City Thunder missed last season's playoffs as major scoring option Kevin Durant was absent in 55 games after fracturing his right foot in the regular season. Russell Westbrook took a knee to the face and broke his jaw in a February game against the Portland Trailblazers. The fracture led him to miss 15 regular games.
Had the Thunder fielded a healthy Durant and Westbrook and made it to the playoffs, the Warriors would have found themselves a serious threat. Instead, they faced off with the New Orleans Pelicans, which was reportedly an easy prey on both paper and court.
The Cleveland Cavaliers also played without their key players against the Warriors in last season's finals. Kevin Love dislocated his left shoulder in April against the Boston Celtics. Point guard Kyrie Irving injured his knee in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Center Anderson Varejao suffered an Achilles tear in December 2014 and was out for the remainder of the season.
While LeBron James provided Cavs with a huge presence on both ends of the court, losing Love, Irving, and Varejao greatly hampered the Cavaliers' ability as a team to defeat Stephen Curry and his Warriors.
One can only speculate the results of last season's NBA Finals had the players been healthier, but it would have been an interesting series if the Cavs came up to the dance with a healthy roster.
Meanwhile, as of writing, at least nine NBA players are registered as injured before the NBA 2015-2016 tips off on Tuesday, according to Sun Times, all of which are key players to their franchises.
2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls has not played a full season since tearing his ACL in 2012, and it looks like this season won't be any different. Rose fractured his left orbital bone during the Bull's first team practice and is out of the game for the first few weeks.
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and Iman Shumpert are also victims of the preseason injury bug. James had an inflamed back but is expected to be in full health once the NBA seasons kicks in. Other members of the Cavs are not as lucky, though.
Shumpert is required to have his rupture right wrist operated on and may be out for 12 to 14 weeks, accordingt to the Latin Post.
Meanwhile, Fansided reports that Irving is still recovering from a fractured knee cap which he got last year, and Cavs' management has not given any statement regarding his return to the court. Love is also still in the recovery phase after his shoulder surgery, and there is no definite date as to when he will suit up again for the team.
Other injured star players include Deron Williams (Brooklyn Nets, right calf strain), Chandler Parsons (Dallas Mavericks, knee surgery), Andrew Bogut (Golden State Warriors, fractured nose), James Harden (Houston Rockets, right knee contusion), Dwight Howard (Houston Rockets, back problems), and LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs, back problems).
