John Hefferon MD
2 min read • April 12, 2023
Posted in
Toronto’s only absence is veteran Otto Porter Jr., who has been out since undergoing surgery on his left foot in January. Porter only played in eight games this season, putting up 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, thus his absence isn’t a big loss.
The Raptors find themselves in the play-in with a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of the team and head coach Nick Nurse.
Essentially the same unit finished fifth last season before getting bounces by the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.
One big addition this postseason is Jakob Poeltl, who was acquired at the trade deadline for a package of picks and Khem Birch.
The team went 15-11 after adding Poeltl and finished the season fourth in points allowed by holding opponents to 111.4 per game.
Offense has been the issue, with the team averaging 112.9 points per game – 24th in the league.
Last playoffs, Toronto dealt with injuries to Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes. They enter this tournament with a clean bill of health.
Without Lonzo Ball for a second straight season, the Bulls finished four spots below what they accomplished last season.
Outside of Ball, the team has been relatively healthy all season.
Zach LaVine led the team in scoring with 24.8 per game on 48.5% shooting from the field and 37.5% from three-point range.
He also played in his most games since 2015, only missing five contests despite his ailing knees.
DeMar DeRozan also played in 70+ games for the second straight season. He ranked second on the team in points per game (24.5) and was first in assists (5.1).
Nikola Vucevic played in all 82 games, as did third year forward Patrick Williams.
Vucevic and Williams were third and fourth on the team in minutes played.
Undrafted rookie Justin Lewis is the only other absence for Chicago as he recovers from ACL surgery.
If the Bulls get bounced, they have an interesting offseason ahead as Vucevic, Patrick Beverley and Ayo Dosunmu are all unrestricted free agents.
New Orleans’ injury situation is nothing new, as they went without Zion Williamson for essentially two seasons in a row. Williamson will not be available for the play-in while recovering from his early January hamstring strain.
His outlook gets a little better if they advance to a series but he is still reportedly not ready for basketball action.
The Pelicans gelled without him down the stretch, thanks to big contributions from Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones along with the usual producers of C.J. McCollum and Brandon Ingram.
Guard Jose Alvarado is another key absence on defense for the Pelicans as he recovers from a stress reaction in his right tibia.
Larry Nance is questionable for the game with left ankle soreness but will undoubtedly play through.
Without Williamson for 51 games this season, New Orleans ranked 13th in rebounds and 15th in scoring.
On defense, they were ninth in points allowed, second in steals and first in three-point percentage allowed.
Despite playing the entire season without No. 1 overall pick Chet Holmgren, the Thunder clawed their way to the 10th seed over the Dallas Mavericks, Jazz and Trail Blazers.
They ranked dead last in rebounds allowed per game, but finished top 5 in scoring thanks to a career-high 31.4 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (fourth in the league this season).
Oklahoma City has the youngest roster in the NBA – average age 22.7 – and thus didn’t have many injury issues to speak of this season.
A right hip issue ended last season prematurely for Australian Josh Giddey, but he played in 76 games this year and led the team in rebounding with 7.9 per game.
Slim Serbian Alexsej Pokusevski missed more than 40 games from December to late-March with a non-displaced tibial plateau fracture in his left leg.
He returned for a brief stint at the end of March, but has not appeared in a game in April because of a left knee contusion. That doesn’t bode well for his availability in the play-in tournament and beyond.
Role player Kenrich Williams is also out after undergoing surgery on his left wrist. Williams averaged 8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game this season.
Written by John Hefferon MD
