NBA’s Friday schedule features a minimum of 168 players sidelined due to injury or illness.
The matchup between Oklahoma City and Denver had the potential to feature the NBA’s two most recent MVPs: the current titleholder, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and three-time winner Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic. However, both players were sidelined.
They were not the only ones.
All other regular starters for both the Thunder and Nuggets were also unavailable. Additionally, across the league, at least 168 players — including 14 from the Memphis Grizzlies — were absent on Friday night due to injuries or illnesses.
Every team in the league was participating in game 81 — the penultimate game — of their seasons on Friday night. All teams will have a day off on Saturday, followed by another round of games on Sunday to conclude the regular season.
Some teams had stakes in the game on Friday, while others did not. At times, this distinction appeared to have little impact.
“If we hadn’t secured [the No. 1 overall seed] before tonight, everyone would be playing,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault informed reporters prior to the game. “We’ve earned the right through 80 games to manage their bodies and things like that.”
Oklahoma City had already clinched the No. 1 seed for the entire postseason, indicating that rest and health are the Thunder’s main focus.
The Nuggets entered Friday still vying for seeding, and in Jokic’s situation, there remains award eligibility to consider. He needs to participate in one more game, making it likely that the Nuggets will utilize him on Sunday to ensure he is eligible for MVP, All-NBA, and other accolades.
“We’re all aware of that,” Nuggets coach David Adelman stated to reporters.
Some players achieved award eligibility with a few extra minutes to spare.
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, needing to log 20 minutes to meet the 65-game requirement for postseason awards, was removed after reaching that exact number of minutes – only to return to the game, apparently convincing the Spurs that he required additional on-court time.
He concluded with 40 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists in 26 minutes.
“If I had already played 65 [games], I definitely wouldn’t have participated,” Wembanyama remarked.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson commented: “We need as much on-the-job training, on-the-court experience together as we can. That’s what we’re aiming for without overdoing it.”
There was also a record-setting shooting performance on Friday. Boston made 29 three-pointers, equaling the record for the most threes in a game. This marked the fourth instance in NBA history of a team making 29, and the second occurrence this week after Memphis achieved it on Monday in a loss to Cleveland.
“Hopefully, we didn’t exhaust them all in one game,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Play-in dress rehearsal for Warriors? Not everyone was resting for the playoffs.
Golden State was preparing for the postseason — or at least, what it hopes will be a playoff run. The Warriors are heading to the play-in tournament and fine-tuned their lineup by starting Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Kristaps Porzingis together for the first time this season.
“We’ll just evaluate that tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We have a season’s worth of data and film on some of the combinations. However, some decisions we need to make lack data. It’s more of a hunch, so we need to give some of that a look tonight.”
Playoff picture becomes clearer Atlanta became the 11th team to secure one of the 12 guaranteed playoff spots, defeating a Cleveland team that rested Donovan Mitchell.
“It feels great,” guard CJ McCollum said after the Hawks secured either the No. 5 or No. 6 spot in the East. “The guys did a fantastic job of coming together.”
In other playoff-related updates:
β’ Boston secured the No. 2 seed in the East, trailing No. 1 Detroit (which had already clinched).
β’ New York secured the No. 3 seed in the East.
β’ Cleveland is assured of the No. 4 seed in the East following their loss to the Hawks.
β’ Atlanta is confirmed to be in the playoffs, either as the No. 5 or No. 6 seed.
β’ Charlotte will participate in the play-in tournament after losing to Detroit.
β’ Orlando will be in no worse than the 7-vs.-8 play-in game in the East.
β’ Miami is set for the 9-vs.-10 play-in game in the East.
