The regular season has officially come to an end, and the rankings are basically in line with outside expectations. Of course, there are also some teams that have regressed a lot as a whole, or collapsed at critical moments, which is inseparable from their serious injury troubles, including the Houston Rockets.
According to the statistics of local media, the impact of the Rockets' injuries is indeed great, and the total number of absences this season has reached 242, ranking tenth in the league. The Memphis Grizzlies are the top of the game with 594 absences, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers and Charlotte Hornets.
The main impact on the Rockets' side is that Alperen Shenjing and Tari Eason will be reimbursed in advance, otherwise they may really be able to qualify for the play-offs. Especially after Tari Eason's injury, the Rockets not only greatly reduced the depth of the bench, but also greatly declined in terms of overall defense and impact compared to the beginning of the season. In addition, Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore was out for three weeks in the closing stage of the season, and most of the other players also suffered minor injuries, so it can be said that except for Jalen Green, who maintains full attendance, other players have been injured, which has somewhat affected the Rockets' preparation.
Of course, when it comes to the impact of player absences, no team can compare to the Grizzlies. Originally, the star Ja Morant was banned by the league, but he came back and played 9 games, and the Grizzlies just prepared for the Northern Expedition, but Ja Morant was reimbursed early because of surgery, and the Grizzlies had no choice but to start rotting. And in addition to Ja Morant, the Grizzlies include Jaren Jackson Jr., Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane, Brandon Clark and Luke Kennard, etc., who are simply injured in turn, in this case the Grizzlies have 29 wins and have upset the league several times, which is really amazing for resilience and execution.
Aside from center Robert Williams, who confirmed reimbursement shortly after the start of the season, the impact of injuries on the Trail Blazers' other players is not serious. But the Trail Blazers focused on training young people, especially in the second half of the season, in order to get another high-pick draft pick. In the end, the Trail Blazers did it, they were surpassed by the Spurs, the record is at the bottom of the West, and the whole league is only better than the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards.
The Hornets are already limited, and the injury can be said to be worse. The core LaMelo Ball has only played 22 games and has been on the sidelines since the end of January, with a total of 58 games played over the past two seasons, which is a real concern. Interior core Mark Williams was reimbursed earlier, and he hasn't played since December last year, and the only players the Hornets could play were those players, so it's no wonder that they ended up ranking third from the bottom in the East.