If you are ever looking to make NBA picks today, looking at the injury report every night is always an important task. Unfortunately, it has been a rough start to the year for some of the biggest stars in the league, but they could start to make their return to the floor now that December has begun.
Injuries will always happen, but it hurts the overall product on the floor. Getting every team to have its full complement of players is the ultimate goal, and it should start to help the standings make more sense.
The NBA standings look about as expected through the first full month of the season, but the action will start heating up in December. Hopefully, players will be able to avoid future injuries so fans can get a chance to watch the best teams in the league take the court.
Clippers Getting Two Stars Back
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The LA Clippers hope to get their two biggest stars back soon after Paul George and Kawhi Leonard return to practice. Head coach Ty Lue has not announced an anticipated return date for either player, but having them back on the practice floor is a big step.
George and Leonard are both expected to be listed on future injury reports, and that will indicate that they should be back soon. Both players have a history of injury, and it’s not a wild thought to expect them to be injured again at some point.
The Clippers have had George and Leonard at times this season, but they ended the month of November both hanging out in street clothes together. Los Angeles is expected to be a title contender this season, but they will have to find a way to keep their stars healthy.
Bucks Need Middleton
The Milwaukee Bucks were forced to play the entire first month of the season without All-Star Khris Middleton, but he was expected to suit up in the first game in December. Middleton had wrist surgery in the offseason, and the Bucks knew that he wouldn’t be able to suit up to begin the year.
Milwaukee could still go 15-5 through the first 20 games of the season without Middleton in the lineup, partly thanks to a big start for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks are one of the top title contenders in the NBA this season, but they will need a healthy Middleton to get that done.
KAT Out for the Wolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves will not have their star on the floor in December, as Karl-Anthony Towns is out for the next few weeks. This is a huge blow to a Timberwolves team that went all in during the offseason and will now have to try to stay in the race without their star.
When the injury occurred, it was assumed that KAT would be out for much longer, but the team got better news. The injury happened on a non-contact play and initially looked like an injury to the Achilles tendon.
Initial tests revealed that it wasn’t an injury to the Achilles, but it will still be a long road to recovery for the Timberwolf’s big man. Minnesota traded for Rudy Gobert in the offseason, and there will now be more pressure on the former Utah Jazz star to deliver.
KAT averaged 23.1 points per game during his career and over 11 rebounds per game. He was off to a slow start to the season, but it’s still a massive blow not to have him on the floor for the Timberwolves.
Minnesota has announced that KAT is expected to recover from the injury, but he isn’t even be evaluated again until some point in January. The Timberwolves can still be a tough team to deal with in the playoffs, but getting there will be difficult.
