There’s been an inordinate amount of talk about injuries during this NBA playoffs, and understandably so.
Never before have we had so many All-Stars miss time during the most important stretch of the year. And perhaps because of that, we’ll not only see a new champion crowned in a few weeks, but we’ll also see a franchise that hasn’t hoisted the hardware in at least 50 years.
But in examining those injuries—either to bemoan them and the toll they’ve taken on the sport, or to view them through a glass-half-full lens and embrace the new stars that have emerged as a result—there is one thing that’s being overlooked somehow.