Injuries Hit the Stars

Nearing closer to the all-star game, many huge injuries sideline stars of imminent title contenders, and other teams fighting for a spot.  Among the injured stars, Chris Paul strained his groin, Andrew Bynum is back on the injured list due to his knee, and Michael Redd is out for the season with a torn ACL.  Among others are Kevin Garnett, who should return to action soon, Andrei Kirilenko, Deron Williams and Monta Ellis.  For the Lakers, who made it to the finals and put up a strong fight without Bynum last year, his re-injury should not be too big of a problem, especially since Kobe is catching fire coming off a 61-point performance.  However, the main issue for teams with newly injured stars is with the Hornets' loss of Chris Paul, and the Bucks losing Redd for the season.  Although Paul is day-to-day, with the Hornets' title hopes hingeing on Paul, they can't take too many chances.  While the Bucks' would be 8th in the east, if the season ended now, Redd was a huge part of that, and his loss is terrible for them.  They now must rely on the rest of their team, none of whom has ever been the top man on any NBA team.  They need huge productivity from their number 2 and 3 men, Richard Jefferson and Charlie Villanueva.  The loss of Redd spells trouble for the Bucks' playoff hopes, and is likely to remove any chance of it.  The Jazz, with Boozer returning after the all-star break and Kirilenko and Williams injured, are hanging on at 27-22 with their big 3 depleted for almost all of the year.  Excluding the Celtics, Lakers and Hornets, assuming Paul returns soon, will probably fair the best of these injury depleted teams.  But, the only cure for this injury epidemic is well-executed medical care, and the depleting medicine of time.