MikeCheck: Grizzlies and Southwest rivals desperately aim to extinguish pesky injury bug
Michael WallaceMEMPHIS – When it comes to the Grizzlies and the Southwest Division these past few seasons, injuries have been, well . . ., a sore subject.
Two years ago, the Grizzlies were coming off consecutive 50-win seasons when calamity struck, ailments piled up and pummeled them through the most injury-riddled season in NBA history. That 2023-24 season, Memphis set a league record with 578 games missed to player injuries.
While the Grizzlies recovered relatively well to return to the playoffs last season, the Southwest Division overall was consistently bitten by the injury bug. Collectively, the Grizzlies, Pelicans, Rockets, Mavericks and Spurs totaled 2,104 games missed to injuries in the 2024-25 season.
In fact, the Southwest was the lone division in the Western Conference where each of the five teams totaled at least 342 games lost to injuries last season. It serves as a painful reminder just how delicately a season can turn from title contention to turmoil.
For any team, every season hinges on relatively good health.
That’s especially been the case in the Southwest.
It’s a division where the Grizzlies look to finally get close to a full season from Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. in tandem. It’s where the Spurs welcome back Victor Wembanyama from season-ending blood clots.
It’s where the Rockets attempt to preserve peak production from a gracefully aging Kevin Durant. It’s where the Mavericks hope to keep Anthony Davis upright for when Kyrie Irving returns from knee surgery.
And it’s where the Pelicans simply want more than a college season sample size of 30 games from Zion Williamson. From top to bottom in the division, where there’s health there’s hope.
With NBA training camps opening later this month, I’ve joined league insiders and analysts covering the Grizzlies, Mavericks, Pelicans, Rockets and Spurs to preview the top storylines from the Southwest Division. Our six-part series continues by exploring the role health plays in keeping that hope alive.
Part 2: This season potentially goes haywire for your team if . . . ?
GRIZZLIES – MW, Grind City Media
If . . . Ja Morant somehow doesn’t play at least 65 games this season. The Grizzlies’ season goes as Ja goes. There’s no questioning his elite-level talent and ability to completely take over games as one of the NBA’s most unstoppable forces. But the hard truth is that Morant and fellow franchise pillar Jaren Jackson Jr. have averaged fewer than 40 games a season together on the court through six years. That trend has to reverse if this iteration of the Grizzlies will ever reach the potential they flashed four years ago as one of the NBA’s young-and-rising squads.
Now, these guys are in their mid-20s, playing on $200-million-plus contracts and have just one playoff series victory to show for it. Injuries to either catalyst would derail the season yet again. If so, it might be time to seriously consider taking another path with the roster.
MAVERICKS – Eddie Sefko, Mavs.com
If . . . The injury gods that poo-poohed their 2024-25 season return for an encore. They lost so many player-games to injury that everybody stopped counting when Kyrie Irving went down with the torn knee ligament. And that’s going to be a lingering question. If the future hall-of-famer doesn’t come back by, say, the All-Star break or so, then this season will be in jeopardy.
You can argue the Mavericks are due for a few good breaks when it comes to the injury front. Then again, you can say they used up all their good fortune by winning the draft lottery to land Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick. They do have a few older players in Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and Irving. Older players are more injury-prone. But that’s the dice they are rolling.
PELICANS – Jim Eichenhofer, Pelicans.com
If . . . We see anything resembling the incomprehensible number of health issues New Orleans experienced in last season’s 21-61 finish, the team’s worst mark in two decades. Looking at this roster on paper, it makes no sense the Pelicans posted the NBA’s fourth-fewest wins in 2024-25.
But when you factor in that only two players suited up for 65 games or more (rookie center Yves Missi, role player Jeremiah Robinson-Earl), it’s much clearer why the Pelicans struggled through separate double-digit losing streaks, and ended the campaign with seven straight defeats.
New Orleans will not be at full strength Opening Night, with starting point guard Dejounte Murray rehabbing from an Achilles injury he sustained Jan. 31. But having much of the rest of the squad available should make the Pelicans significantly more competitive. They had no chance to recover from a 5-29 start last season in the unforgiving West.
ROCKETS – Danielle Lerner, Houston Chronicle
If . . . The offense falls off a cliff in the non-KD minutes. To see how that can negatively impact a team’s ceiling, look no further than across the West at the Warriors, whose offensive production tanked when Stephen Curry sat. Kevin Durant will be 37 on opening night and Rockets general manager Rafael Stone has already been clear that he does not expect Durant to play every game. When Durant is off the court, either for entire games or shorter stretches, the Rockets must rely on Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. to score.
The Rockets’ other concern will be managing a roster that is significantly older and thus more injury prone. Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet missed a chunk of games last season with an ankle injury, backup center Steven Adams was limited for most of the season while recovering from knee surgery and free agent acquisition Dorian Finney-Smith recently had offseason surgery on his left ankle. Houston’s young core hasn’t been immune to the injury bug, either; Thompson, Smith, Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard all missed time last season.
SPURS – Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News
If . . . Injuries strike again, particularly as it pertains to Victor Wembanyama. Outside of that, the Spurs do have a new full-time head coach in Mitch Johnson, who formally takes over from Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich.
Johnson guided the Spurs to a 34-48 finish after Popovich’s stroke last season, but there could still be a learning curve for the 38-year-old Johnson in his first full campaign at the helm.
Published on Sep 09, 2025
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