'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Injuries to players during the NBA Finals can swing the complexion of the series to the team that remains relatively healthy. The past several seasons in the NBA have proven that the championship can sometimes boil down to the team with a healthier cast. If the injuries are non-factors in any finals series, the history of the NBA could be markedly different.
Load management has been a trend in the NBA for several seasons now. Team executives would assert that the road to the NBA Finals starts with a game-fit roster. Many of the past league champions had players that were in fairly good health than their opponents, which only emphasizes how critical it is to be healthy to win a title.
Here's a look at how health has affected the outcome of championship wars in the past.
Injuries to players since the 2010 NBA Finals that were critical in deciding the championship series
#5 2009-10 Boston Celtics – Los Angeles Lakers
The Boston Celtics had a 3-2 series lead in the 2010 NBA Finals after winning Game 5. They went into Game 6 confident of adding #18 to the Celtics’ championship collection. Seven minutes into the game, Kendrick tore ligaments in his right knee. Perk averaged only 5.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks, but was instrumental in clearing the boards against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.
He will be sidelined for the rest of that NBA Finals. Gasol and Bynum controlled the paint and were vital cogs in securing yet another Purple and Gold championship. The ugly and messy deciding Game 7 was tailor-made for Perkins. He could have made a difference if he was on the floor at that time.
Every advantage matters in the finals and losing Perkins could have swung the momentum to Kobe and company.
#4 2012-13 Miami Heat – San Antonio Spurs
Lost in the hoopla of Ray Allen's dagger three that swung the momentum of the 2013 NBA Finals to LeBron James and the Miami Heat was the hamstring injury that Tony Parker had to play through since Game 3 of that finals. The San Antonio Spurs were very clear that if it had been in the regular season, Parker would have had to sit out for at least 10 days.
Despite that brutal Game 6 loss, the last game of the fi was a closely contested one. Who knows how the whole series would have turned out had Parker been fully fit.
If the Spurs had beaten the Heat, Tim Duncan would have been a perfect 6-0 in the finals and LeBron James a ring short of his actual collection. These are really big what-ifs concerning giants of the game that could have been decided by the hamstring of one small 6’1 guard out of France.
#3 2014-15 Cleveland Cavaliers – Golden State Warriors
In Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals, Kyrie Irving drove to his right on top of the key against Klay Thompson. Irving slipped and fell to his knees with 2:23 left in OT and the Warriors leading by four. He would stand up and go back to play defense but was soon hobbling his way into the locker room. A fractured kneecap ended Irving’s stint in that finals series.
Having lost Kevin Love earlier in the playoffs, the depleted Cavaliers had just no chance against the Warriors juggernaut. There is no certainty of a Cavaliers win with Irving fully healthy, but his injury obviously affected the outcome of that series.
#2 2018-19 NBA Finals Toronto Raptors – Golden State Warriors
The 2019 NBA Finals saw Klay Thompson with a torn ACL that spelled the Golden State Warriors' doom. With 2:22 left on the clock in the third quarter of Game 6 and the Warriors leading 83-80, Thompson went for a dunk and went down in a heap upon landing. The Warriors survived the loss of Kevin Durant in Game 5, but would not be able to get past the Raptors without one of the Splash Brothers.
Thompson’s availability was not an assurance of a Warriors’ win, but it clearly hastened their downfall.
#1 2018-19 Toronto Raptors – Golden State Warriors
Proper context has to be established to highlight how crucial was Kevin Durant’s injury leading to the finals and the NBA Finals itself. KD injured his calf in the semifinal against James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Minus Durant, the Warriors still clinched the second round against the Rockets.
The Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson Big 3 led the Warriors past the Blazers to the championship series while Durant watched from the bench.
Without KD, they fell to a 3-1 hole against Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors. Kevin Durant was scheduled to return for Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals. He lasted only 12 minutes before rupturing his right Achilles tendon.
It’s not a guarantee that KD’s presence would be enough to bring the Warriors back from the brink of defeat as the right calf injury he sustained earlier in the playoffs could still be bothering him. However, a less than 100% Kevin Durant is better than no KD at all. The Warriors could have possibly bounced back and won the 2019 NBA Finals.
