Wednesday’s NBA slate features six games with several injuries and questionable players. We’ll analyze three situations:
- Orlando Magic at Washington Wizards: 7 p.m. ET
- Detroit Pistons at Miami Heat: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets: 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Note: The information below is as of 11 a.m. ET. Check out our live news feed and follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news and analysis.
Orlando Magic
Injuries: Aaron Gordon (ribs) is questionable. Wes Iwundu (toe) is TBD.
Injury background: Gordon didn’t start the second half of Sunday’s loss due to sore ribs. Initial X-rays were negative. He didn’t practice Monday.
Gordon said after Sunday’s game:
“I must have taken an elbow or something and then tweaked it in my low ribs and right side. It’s hard to breathe and it’s hard to decelerate, but I’m good. I’m in a little bit of pain right now and I’ll be sore for a couple of days, but it’s something that I’m going to have to deal with here. I know my team needs me, so I’m going to play through (the injury) and I’ll be all right.’’
Iwundu also missed Monday’s practice, and he’s dealing with a toe ailment.
Tonight’s impact: Gordon has missed four games this season. The Magic went 2-2 without him. Jonathon Simmons, who is no longer on the team, started three of those games and Iwundu started the other. Iwundu started the second half Sunday when Gordon remained in the locker room.
Gordan played only 90 seconds in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss. While it sounds like he wants to push through the pain, he may be limited physically if cleared.
Iwundu could operate as a value play if Gordon is ruled out. However, Iwundu has an injury of his own to navigate. Terrence Ross has normally done well when a starter has been ruled out, but he’s prone to duds.
When Gordon has been off the court since the trade deadline, Iwundu has played the most minutes among the non-starters, and Nikola Vucevic has registered a team-high 1.56 DraftKings points per minute, per the NBA On/Off tool. Jonathan Isaac’s assist rate, usage rate and rebound rate differentials have been positive sans Gordon.
On a team level, Gordon’s off-court minutes since the trade deadline have actually rendered team-highs of a +11.5 Net Rating, 103.42 pace factor and 53.7% rebound rate, according to NBA.com stats.
The Magic have gone 2-5 without Isaiah Briscoe since he became the primary backup point guard. Now that he’s sidelined indefinitely following knee surgery, Jerian Grant has taken charge of the second unit. Unfortunately, he’s a carriage waiting to revert into a pumpkin.
The Wizards have been atrocious defensively, conceding points in the paint and at the rim without any true interior defender. Vucevic has a tremendous matchup, and his offensive responsibility should increase if Gordon is unable to play.
Heat G Josh Richardson (hamstring) is questionable.
Injury background: Richardson has been diagnosed with a sore right hamstring. There’s been no word on the severity of the injury or when it occurred.
Tonight’s impact: Richardson has been unavailable twice this season. The Heat notched a 1-1 record, and the loss came against the Pistons in a game neither team scored triple digits.
When Richardson has been off the court since Goran Dragic returned to the rotation, Kelly Olynyk has led the Heat with 1.33 DraftKings points per minute and a +7.8% usage rate differential. Olynyk has averaged 27.38 DraftKings points per game since moving into the starting lineup last month, but his salary increase has matched his recent production.
If Richardson is unable to play, Rodney McGruder or Dragic could return to the starting lineup. Justise Winslow was unavailable against the Pistons a couple weeks ago, and coach Erik Spoelstra started McGruder rather than Dragic, who was on a minutes restriction in his first game in over two months.
The Heat are favored by 1.5 points at home. They’ve gone 15-19 at home and 12-22 against teams with winning records this season.
Their zone defense has been heavily exploited since Bam Adebayo moved into the starting lineup. Over that seven-game stretch, the Heat have allowed a league-high 16.6 made 3s per game, but they’ve also allowed the fewest rebounds.
Over the same seven-game stretch, the Pistons have converted 40.9% of their 3-point attempts — second to only the Heat. Nearly half of Heat opponents’ attempts have been 3-pointers in that duration, whereas the Pistons have limited teams to the second-lowest 3-point rate, per Cleaning the Glass.
The Pistons have minimized turnovers and fouls, which may give them the edge regardless of Richardson’s status. However, if Richardson is ruled out, the line could swing back in favor of the Pistons, and they’ve already taken two of the first three games in the season series.
Warriors F Kevin Durant (ankle) is out.
Injury background: Durant missed the final six minutes of Sunday’s loss due to a sprained right ankle. He didn’t practice Tuesday and won’t play tonight. The Warriors have designated Durant day-to-day.
Tonight’s impact: Durant missed one game this season for rest. He sat two weeks ago, resulting in a loss to the Magic.
Alfonzo McKinnie started the game Durant rested. He, Damion Lee or Andre Iguodala could draw the start. If Kerr decides to treat this like a playoff game, Iguodala could see plenty of minutes, as the Warriors had two days off prior to tonight’s game and will have an additional two days off afterward. Lee played over 25 minutes in the two games McKinnie recently started, but neither has displayed much consistency.
When Durant has been off the court since DeMarcus Cousins made his season debut, Cousins has been the primary beneficiary. He’s led the Warriors with 1.38 DraftKings points per minute and ranked second to Stephen Curry in usage rate. Over the same 21-game span, the Warriors’ pace has dropped to a team-low 100.25. Durant’s absence has also resulted in team-lows of a -7.7 Net Rating and 52.2% true shooting mark.
Curry has averaged a mere 43.23 DraftKings points per 36 minutes with Durant off the court since Cousins’ debut, and Curry and Klay Thompson have suffered decreases in effective field goal percentage in those minutes.
Curry has made more than half his shots once since the All-Star break, but in the game Durant missed, Curry produced 53.0 DraftKings points in 37.3 minutes on a 42.8% usage rate. The offense revolved around Curry, Cousins and Thompson; those three accounted for 72 of the team’s 97 field goal attempts.
Cousins’ -17 plus-minus in the last game against the Rockets highlights his detrimental nature against an isolation-heavy offense. He still tallied 46.5 DraftKings points, but he played less than 27 minutes and was off the court the final six minutes in favor of Jordan Bell.
The Rockets are riding a nine-game winning streak that began against the Warriors and have ranked in the top-seven in Offensive and Defensive Rating over that stretch with a +7.9 Net Rating. The Rockets have also beaten the Warriors three times this season.
Photo credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Pictured: Kevin Durant
