Tis' the Season to be Injured.

Unfortunately with the season being affected by the lockout and the season being significantly reduced to 66 games, numerous players have found it hard to stay healthy while enduring this years strenuous schedule.

Currently, there is a total of 79 players injured in the NBA and no team is excluded from this horrific stat. This season has plagued many teams by keeping key players off the court and on the bench making planning and player rotations hard to keep stable.

Durable players like Dwight Howard, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant had to sit out games in order to rest the minor injuries they've acquired over the course of the season. The most recent and unfortunate news being that Dwight Howard is out for the remainder of the season to have his back operate on for a herniated and bulging disk. This should really put into perspective how rough this season truly is. He relies purely on his athleticism and size to make moves in the low post, so hopefully having a serious injury and operation for a player who seeks contact won't disrupt his game in the future.

The only time we see these players is on the court. We all need to take into consideration the workouts they do to get stronger, the practices they try to squeeze in before a game to get on the same page, and the travel time for their away games all take a toll.

Just as my fellow writer Rick Bartra posted in his article below, the intensity of games played from now on are on the rise as the playoffs creep closer. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say I want to see every team play with all of their players healthy to see the true potential of each team.

For example the Golden State Warriors were forced to start four rookies while Nate Robinson (PG), David Lee (PF), Andrew Bogut (C), Stephen Curry (PG), and Andris Biedrins (C) were all watching from the bench in their tailored suits.

Defenses are always far greater in the playoffs than they are in the regular season and what comes along with feisty defenses is a lot of injuries. Who knows maybe the team that has the best chance of winning the finals is the team who is the healthiest. Bosh and Wade being out for a little time this season could potentially be beaten by a team like the Pacers who've adapted surprisingly quite well to Darren Collison's absence.

A team like New York, while missing Jeremy Lin, (Amar'e expected back next week) can upend the Rose-less Bulls in Chicago. Yes I know, statistically it looks like Chicago is better off without Rose, but I doubt any team is truly "better off" without their reigning MVP.

Only time can tell and the time is almost here as we all prepare for what we've been waiting for since Christmas, Playoff Basketball.

Sources:
1.http://www.betinf.com/nba_injured.htm
2.http://cache.heraldinteractive.com/blogs/sports/rap_sheet/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/red-cross-logo565.png