This article is part of our NBA Injury Analysis series.
Anthony Davis
The Brow on Sunday became the fifth Pelicans player to be shut down for the season. Davis is slated to undergo a shoulder labrum repair in the coming days as well as an undisclosed procedure on his left knee. He faces a four-to-five month recovery.
The injuries are the punctuation mark on what has gone down as a lost season in New Orleans, and Davis' recovery and its potential impact on the franchise will be closely monitored all summer. Furthermore, the dreaded "injury prone" label will linger for the 23-year-old as he failed to play more than 68 games for the fourth straight season.
Davis' proclivity for injury is hard to ignore. Since entering the league in the 2012-13 season, Davis has averaged 9.5 injuries or medical incidences per year. His list of injuries includes a left MCL sprain, a stress reaction in his left ankle, a fractured fifth metacarpal, multiple shoulder sprains and two concussions. Still, the two looming surgeries are easily the most significant.
Let's first examine the shoulder. At some point Davis tore the fibrocartilage disc in his shoulder, known as the labrum. Labral tears in the NBA are relatively common and notable players to sustain the injury the last few seasons include Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, Joakim Noah and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (twice). The success rate of surgery is high, despite Kidd-Gilchrist's recent setback, and Davis should be fine in time for training camp. Furthermore, an additional focus on improving the musculature of
Anthony Davis
The Brow on Sunday became the fifth Pelicans player to be shut down for the season. Davis is slated to undergo a shoulder labrum repair in the coming days as well as an undisclosed procedure on his left knee. He faces a four-to-five month recovery.
The injuries are the punctuation mark on what has gone down as a lost season in New Orleans, and Davis' recovery and its potential impact on the franchise will be closely monitored all summer. Furthermore, the dreaded "injury prone" label will linger for the 23-year-old as he failed to play more than 68 games for the fourth straight season.
Davis' proclivity for injury is hard to ignore. Since entering the league in the 2012-13 season, Davis has averaged 9.5 injuries or medical incidences per year. His list of injuries includes a left MCL sprain, a stress reaction in his left ankle, a fractured fifth metacarpal, multiple shoulder sprains and two concussions. Still, the two looming surgeries are easily the most significant.
Let's first examine the shoulder. At some point Davis tore the fibrocartilage disc in his shoulder, known as the labrum. Labral tears in the NBA are relatively common and notable players to sustain the injury the last few seasons include Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, Joakim Noah and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (twice). The success rate of surgery is high, despite Kidd-Gilchrist's recent setback, and Davis should be fine in time for training camp. Furthermore, an additional focus on improving the musculature of Davis' already broad shoulder can help fortify and stabilize the primary joint of the shoulder.
The knee injury is a bit more worrisome, primarily because New Orleans remains tight-lipped regarding the specifics. The Pelicans have taken a similar approach all season, releasing limited information regarding the knee surgeries of Quincy Pondexter and Tyreke Evans. While it seems likely Davis will undergo a minor debridement procedure to address a loose body of some sort, there have been several incidences in recent memory where a team downplayed the severity of a surgery only to later reveal a major surgery was required. Dallas did so over the summer with Chandler Parsons, and just this week the aforementioned Pondexter revealed he underwent a more aggressive "cartilage replacement" procedure on his left knee in January. Again, it doesn't appear Davis' injury is anywhere near that severity, but how he responds to the first two surgeries of his professional career will ultimately shape his value in keeper leagues and where he should be taken in next season's drafts.
Carmelo Anthony
The Knicks forward did not dress Sunday due to a migraine headache that started during Saturday's game against the Wizards. Migraine headaches are a bigger problem than a "normal" headache. A headache is considered a migraine when the associated pain is moderate to significant and accompanied by additional symptoms, including sensitivity to light, vomiting and, in some extreme cases, loss of consciousness. The exact cause of migraines remains debated, though several issues, including genetic predisposition, stress, physical exertion and weather changes, are believed to be contributing factors. Medication exists to treat the associated symptoms and help reduce the regularity of migraines, but a cure is not available.
Anthony has a history of migraines dating to this rookie season, though Sunday was the first time an episode has forced him to miss a game. Based on reports of his status prior to the loss to Sacramento, it sounds like Anthony is in the postdrome or waning phase of the migraine. If that is the case, a return Wednesday seems likely. However, migraines can be extremely unpredictable and Melo is day-to-day.
Fast Breaks
Pau Gasol: The veteran big man returned Monday after missing four consecutive games with swelling on his left knee. Keep a close eye on how he performs. His inherent injury risk will be elevated but those engaged in playoff matchups will be happy to have him back in any capacity.
James Harden: The All-Star guard is managing a left ankle sprain days before he and the Rockets are set to face his former team, the Thunder. Harden's style of play often lends itself to injury, though he's been particularly healthy all season, rarely showing up on the Houston injury report. Given his overall good health and the importance of the game, I'd be surprised if Harden didn't play Tuesday. However, scale back your expectations for the next few games as he works through the issue.
Chandler Parsons: The Mavericks are fighting for their playoff lives and were forced to do so without the services of Parsons over the weekend. The 6-foot-9 forward suffered a mild hamstring strain Friday in a loss to the Warriors and did not play Sunday in a win over Portland. It appeared he was close to suiting up Sunday and a small break in the schedule should allow Parsons to return to action Wednesday. He's a bit of a gamble in weekly formats, though those in daily leagues should be fine managing a potential missed game.
Jonas Valanciunas: The 7-0 center from Lithuania has been a disappointment this season as he's never really bounced back from an early season hand injury. Valanciunas missed 17 games following a broken fourth metacarpal in late November and has struggled to produce since. He aggravated the hand injury in a loss to Chicago last week with the team listing the injury as a hand contusion. He has since been cleared to return but remains glued to the bench as teammate Bismack Biyombo has clearly moved ahead of him on the depth chart. Biyombo's productivity is hard to ignore as he is averaging 10.0 points, 13.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game over Toronto's last five outings.
