League-wide issue would derail Celtics' season if it reached them

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid, Zion Williamson, Trae Young, Ja Morant, Jalen Williams, and Paolo Banchero are just a few of the many NBA stars who are currently out or have missed time due to injury already this season.

Underdog fantasy shared a full list of names on Tuesday, and it was pretty jarring.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr voiced his concern about the surplus of injuries prior to Golden State’s meeting with the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.

“I’m very concerned. It’s dramatic. The pace difference is dramatic… [The Warriors’ medical staff] believe the wear and tear, the speed, the pace, the mileage is factoring into these injuries.”

Kerr has been vocal about his desire to shorten the season for quite some time now, which he reiterated at his press conference. He, and many others, believe that fewer games will improve the product while simultaneously improving player safety.

For now, the NBA season is 82 games long with more than enough back-to-backs going around.

The Celtics simply cannot handle injuries right now

The league’s early-season injury epidemic, whether directly correlated to the number and frequency of games or not, is a reminder of how fragile a season can be. One significant injury can derail it.

With the Boston Celtics playing impressive basketball over their first 15 games, it’s tough not to get a little excited about this squad overachieving during this “gap year.” They’re currently riding a three-game win streak and look to be figuring things out over the past few weeks.

They’ve also been fortunate enough to avoid significant injuries to significant players thus far. Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, and Neemias Queta have all had perfect attendance to this point. Those four, who have established themselves as regulars in Joe Mazzulla’s starting lineup, have proven to be essential to making the early-season Celtics tick.

Brown entered the season battling a hamstring injury, which he and the medical staff managed to work through. The Celtics would look significantly worse in whatever parallel universe that wasn’t the case. 

“Health is key,” Brown told Hardwood Houdini earlier this month. “You see a lot of guys getting injured going around the league and sitting out games. I want to play as many games as I possibly can. I had some injuries last year that kind of derailed me towards the end of the season. So, health was a big emphasis going into the year. Then, at the start of the season, going into the preseason, I had a hamstring strain. Not ideal, but the medical staff managed it well, and I think I’m getting over the hump.”

Brown's been key for the Cs through the first month of the season. He's led the team in scoring, rather efficiently, and has taken on a leadership role on and off the court. If he had to miss time, I'm genuinely not sure if they'd be able to win, like at all.

Things are going well for now, but there’s still another 67 games to be played. There’s a fair chance that Boston catches the injury bug somewhere along the way, and it won’t be pretty -- unless, of course, you’re on team tank.