Matthew Hinton/Associated Press
Injuries happen in all professional sports. Players get hurt, even when they are in top physical shape.
But what has happened in the N.B.A. this season has gone far beyond the norm, particularly for the league’s best. Four top-20 players have not seen the court much, if at all, this year. That’s not including the All-Stars who only recently made their debuts, such as Detroit’s Blake Griffin and the Clippers’ Paul George, or other stars who are dealing with day-to-day injuries, like the Nets’ Kyrie Irving and Portland’s Damian Lillard.
And it’s not just injuries to franchise players.