The 2021-22 NBA season has officially begun, but for some teams, they will be without some of their key talents. Every single year, injuries always play a big role in determining how the NBA season plays out and they definitely played a role during the 2020-21 season.
The Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns were two very deserving teams to make it to the NBA Finals last season, as they were both some of the best teams in their respective conferences, but injuries definitely helped them out along the way in the postseason.
While they won the championship last season, the Bucks beat a banged-up Miami Heat team in the first round of the playoffs, then took down the Brooklyn Nets, who were without Kyrie Irving and a healthy James Harden almost the entire series, and then they beat the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals with Trae Young missing some time in this series.
As for the Phoenix Suns, they beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, who were dealing with plenty of injuries to their star players, then they beat the Denver Nuggets without Jamal Murray, and in the Western Conference Finals, they beat the Los Angeles Clippers who were without Kawhi Leonard.
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No matter who you believe should and should not win a game, or in this case the title, injuries always seem to play a big role in what happens over the course of a season.
The 2021-22 season will be no different and already, teams across the league are dealing with key injuries. Let’s take a look at some of the latest news in regards to Zion Williamson, Cade Cunningham, Pascal Siakam, T.J. Warren, and Caris LeVert as they will missed Opening Night for their teams.