First Wave of Injuries Arrives

The other day we looked at three players who have not played this season. Today we look at three guys who won't play for a month. The Spurs lost swingman Stephen Jackson after he broke his pinkie finger last night against the Clips. He's out 4-6 weeks. While San Antonio can afford to miss Jackson, the Cavs are not so lucky. Star point guard Kyrie Irving has a broken index finger and he will miss a month. Last, Brandon Roy will miss a month as he needs knee surgery, further adding to the Wolves injury woes.

Spurs Will Be Fine
Jackson's injury came after he was starting for the injured Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs will be on their thrid string small forward, but Gregg Popovich's team should weather the storm. It may mean starting Manu Ginobli and giving him and Danny Green more minutes, but a month from now, San Antonio will still be a top-four team out West and back to full strength. We all know the Spurs are old. But Tim Duncan is off to a great start and no one is doubting them as contenders.

Kyrie Irving Injury Prone
He only played 11 games at Duke. He missed 15 games last season. He broke his hand slapping a padded wall this summer. And now Kyrie Irving has a broken index finger. This guy needs to stay healthy. He is a young star who will receive max money for his next contract, but continued injuries will keep him off a list that includes Rose and Westbrook. Irving's Cavs have struggled this year, but he has not. He was up to 23 points a game and looked poised to be an All-Star. Cleveland is not a playoff team and this absence will likely help the progression of rookie Dion Waiters. But Cavs fans really don't want to see the face of the franchise miss further time now as injuries have become a problem for Irving.

The Sad Saga of Brandon Roy
If it seems like a whole career ago that Brandon Roy won rookie of the year and made three all-star games, that's because it was. Roy had a nice preseason with the Wolves after unretiring, but his latest injury may indicate that his degenerative knees are still a major problem. Roy may never be the player he was early on in Portland, but every NBA fan still wants to see him on the court. He'e likely to miss a month now and maybe more as he recovers from yet another knee surgery.