NBA injury report: Return timeline, updates, impact for Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, Clint Capela, other injured stars

The 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend has come and gone, and the second half of the season is about to begin. With the number of games remaining dwindling, and playoff races heating up, it means that injuries become even more impactful. 

Just Wednesday, the Sixers announced that Joel Embiid will be out for a week due to knee soreness, though an MRI revealed no structural damage. Other teams, however, have received better news on the injury front. Celtics guard Kyrie Irving played in the All-Star Game, and should be all set to go heading out of the break, while the Rockets‘ Clint Capela returned to practice and could play as early as Thursday night.

Meanwhile, Isaiah Thomas made his debut for the Nuggets just ahead of the break, and Nikola Mirotic is planning to play his first game for the Bucks on Thursday when they take on the Celtics. 

We have every single NBA injury chronicled here and updated often to let you know who is in or out each night and beyond. But this page will look at the most important injuries in the NBA and how they are affecting teams and players moving forward. 

NBA’s biggest injuries

Feb. 20 update: The Sixers’ oft-injured big man has actually been pretty healthy so far this season, but will now be out for at least a week due to knee soreness. While the MRI revealed no structural damage, there’s always a bit of concern regarding Embiid and his knees. Hopefully this does prove to just be precautionary and Embiid can return to the lineup shortly. 

The Celtics star injured his right knee in the second quarter of their catastrophic 123-112 loss against the Clippers over a week ago, and subsequently missed their next two games against the Sixers and Pistons — both wins for Boston. Irving was healthy enough to play in the All-Star Game over the weekend, however, and should be ready to go coming out of the break. Following the ASG, he said his knee “felt great.”

Capela was hopeful he could get back in the Rockets’ lineup coming out of the All-Star break, and it appears he’ll do so. Capela returned to practice on Wednesday, and is reportedly expected to play on Thursday night when they take on the Lakers. 

The Bucks acquired Mirotic back at the trade deadline nearly two weeks ago, but he hasn’t played for the team due to a calf strain that has sidelined him since Jan. 23. Mirotic should be able to make his debut on Thursday night, however, when the Bucks take on the Celtics in an Eastern Conference showdown. He will likely be on a minutes restriction, but it will still be interesting to see how Mirotic fits in with a Bucks team that has been dynamite this season. 

Thomas signed a one-year deal with the Nuggets back in the summer, but recovery from hip surgery kept him out for most of the season. Last Wednesday night, however, he made his debut, suiting up for the team for the first time in their win over the Kings. Thomas scored eight points off the bench in 13 minutes. It will take some time for Thomas to get back into the swing of things and for the Nuggets to incorporate him back into the lineup. 

Wall’s latest injury is so upsetting that I don’t want to say much about it. It’ll be about a year before he can play again, and this changed the direction of the franchise — owner Ted Leonsis went back on his word and dumped Otto Porter on trade deadline day. By the time Wall returns, the roster could look completely different. One positive to come out of this, though: He’s going to get his degree from Kentucky.

Harris is officially listed as day-to-day, but hasn’t played since Jan. 30, and he missed time earlier this season with a hamstring injury, too. In general, the Nuggets have been extremely resilient this season, and they have lots of depth in the backcourt, especially with Isaiah Thomas’ return. The Nuggets’ first game out of the All-Star break is on Friday night, but it’s not clear yet if Harris will be cleared to play. 

Fultz got the fresh start he wanted with a trade to Orlando, and team president Jeff Weltman did not say whether or not the guard will play this season. The Magic front office gave up Jonathon Simmons, a first-round pick and a second-round pick in order to take a chance on him, and they will pay him $9.7 million next season and, if they pick up his fourth-year option, $12.3 million the season after that. If he can get healthy and regain the shooting ability he showed in college, all of that will be a small price to pay, but those are massive ifs. 

White missed the Spurs‘ last five games heading into the All-Star break, and the Spurs lost four of them. The good news for them, is that head coach Gregg Popovich said White is expected to play “pretty soon” coming out of the break. What that means, exactly, is not clear, but White should be back soon. 

Toronto announced last week that VanVleet will be out for five weeks following thumb surgery. This is a little worrying for the Raptors because they were just getting healthy and they haven’t forgotten how much they missed VanVleet when he was out of the lineup and then playing at less than full strength in last year’s playoffs. In his absence, they’ve brought in veteran point guard Jeremy Lin to bolster their backcourt depth. 

Baynes is quietly a very important part of the Celtics’ rotation, and offers them a big, physical presence inside to go along with Al Horford. He’s missed a number of games this season though, and is currently sidelined with a foot injury. Last week, Celtics GM Danny Ainge said Baynes will return in late February or early March, but nothing more specific than that has been reported yet. 

Feb. 3 update: Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said that the Porzingis-Doncic duo reminds him of Dirk Nowtizki and Steve Nash, “only these guys are taller.” As exciting as this sounds, and as enthused as the Mavericks must be, we all have to be patient. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the plan is to “hold him and get him ready” for the 2019-20 season, which is a bit surprising considering they have no real incentive to tank. (Dallas’ first-round pick is owed to Atlanta as long as it doesn’t fall in the top five, and it is difficult to imagine the team falling so far in the standings that the pick lands that high.) There’s nothing wrong with being cautious with a 23-year-old coming off a serious injury, though, and this kind of statement will shut down speculation for the time being. If the Mavs’ training staff determines he’s ready to play sometime in March or early April, they could give their fans a pleasant surprise.

Covington was having a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber season before this dang bone bruise, and the Wolves have gone 8-7 without him. Rookie Josh Okogie continues to start in his absence, but the most interesting development in Minnesota recently is the solid production of veteran forward Luol Deng, who has been reinserted into the rotation by new coach Ryan Saunders. That likely wouldn’t have happened if Covington was healthy. As far as a potential return goes, the Wolves have been light on details, but he took some standstill jumpers after practice on Friday, so that’s something, I guess.

Chandler had been playing quite well before straining his right quad in the second half of the Sixers’ huge win against the Warriors on Thursday, but during his absence he was dealt to the Clippers in the big Tobias Harris blockbuster. It’s not clear exactly when he’ll be able to make his debut with the Clippers, but head coach Doc Rivers expects him to start practicing soon after the All-Star break. 

Melton sprained his right ankle in a loss to the Blazers on Jan. 24, and fellow rookie Elie Okobo has taken his place in the starting lineup. The Suns expect him to miss about three weeks, which means he won’t be back in action until after the All-Star break. Phoenix has lost 10 straight games, but Melton made the team a bit more interesting with his perimeter defense.  

The guard has been out of the lineup since spraining his ankle on Jan. 5 in Detroit, which means he has watched the vast majority of Utah’s turnaround from the sideline. Without Exum, most of the playmaking responsibility has fallen to Ricky Rubio and the rejuvenated Donovan Mitchell, but Utah has been linked to Mike Conley in advance of the trade deadline. I am sure that just about every Jazz fan has wondered how the Grizzlies value Exum. 

Jan. 26 update: Ugggggggh. What is there to say here? Oladipo suffered an awful, season-ending injury, and the Pacers obviously won’t be the same without him. Of course, they should remain a hard-playing, tough, cohesive team, but the idea of them potentially upsetting one of the East’s elite teams just doesn’t seem realistic anymore. If there was ever a time for Tyreke Evans to recapture the consistent production he had last season in Memphis, though, it is now. 

The Sixth Man of the Year candidate scored 29 points in Brooklyn’s 114-110 victory against Orlando on Wednesday, and then he found out he’d have to sit for a while. He will have surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb on Monday, which comes with a rehabilitation timetable of three-to-six weeks. This is a major setback for a team that has been rolling, and it means there will be more pressure on D’Angelo Russell to continue his hot shooting. The Nets have already proven to be a resilient bunch, though, with the way they handled Caris LeVert’s injury and an eight-game losing streak that featured numerous late-game collapses. Brooklyn is 19-5 since that streak.

Ball played some of the best all-around basketball of his young career in the weeks preceding his injury, which must make this all the more frustrating. He is expected to miss three-to-five weeks, but hey, it could have been worse — Ball told reporters that he initially thought he’d broken his ankle. It is kind of amazing that the Lakers will have played 57 games by the All-Star break, with their two point guards — Ball and Rajon Rondo — healthy at the same time for 14 of them.  

As if the Bulls‘ season needed to get more depressing. Carter had surgery on his injured thumb last week, which means he will be out for 8-12 weeks. In all likelihood, this means his (mostly great) rookie season is over. Carter’s averages of 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 25.2 minutes don’t quite capture how promising he has looked — the guy is 19 years old and plays with the maturity of a seasoned veteran. Chicago is a total mess, and the team is a significantly less interesting total mess without Carter on the court.

The Cavaliers are not going to win many games, but they would at least be more competitive if they had more proven NBA players in the lineup. Thompson is unquestionably one of those, but he will be out for about two more weeks, the team announced on Friday. It is a dark time in Cleveland. 

Warren’s transformation into a 3-point shooter has been a wonderful, unexpected surprise this season, but Phoenix is still adrift and he still doesn’t make plays for others or defend at a level that inspires confidence. He’s out two-to-three weeks with a bone bruise in his ankle, and Josh Jackson is starting in his place for now, with Kelly Oubre playing a featured role on the second unit. If the Suns intend to keep Oubre around, I wouldn’t be surprised if we started hearing Warren’s name come up in trade chatter.

Jan. 18 update: Rick Carlisle called the 34-year-old’s season-ending injury “gut-wrenching,” and this is especially true because, despite his age, Barea had continued to run the pick-and-roll on the second unit this season the same way Mavericks fans have come to expect. Dallas is fortunate enough to have plenty of guard depth — even without Dennis Smith Jr., whose status with the team appears uncertain, rookies Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson are more than capable of running the show — but this is still a real bummer. Barea means a lot to Dallas, and, before tearing his Achilles tendon, he said he wants to play at least two more seasons. 

Jan. 11 update: Brooks’ season is over after just 18 games — he ruptured a ligament in his right big toe last Saturday in San Antonio, and had to have season-ending surgery. This is obviously a disappointing development for a player who had an encouraging rookie season and just hasn’t been able to stay on the floor this year. 

Dec. 29 update: Mbah a Moute’s sore left knee was not seen as a big deal when it started bothering him two months ago, but it wound up derailing his season. He tweeted on Monday that he will be back “soon,” but the Clippers have yet to officially update his status. When he does return, they will be an even more versatile team than they already are, but coach Doc Rivers will have an even tougher time trying to balance their rotation. 

Dragic had surgery on his troublesome knee on Wednesday after only appearing in two games in the last month. This will keep him out an additional two months, which is rough news but at least gets rid of the ambiguity about when he might come back and save the day. On the season, the Heat are 22nd in net rating, but have outscored opponents by 3.5 points per 100 possessions with Dragic on the court. The good news, however, is that they have won their last three games without him. Their defense is good enough for them to turn this season around.

Reporters watched Roberson’s post-practice work on Nov. 29 and came away impressed, and Thunder coach Billy Donovan said he has “been on a really good track,” per The Oklahoman‘s Erik Horne. A day later, the team announced he’d suffered a setback in his recovery, as an MRI revealed an avulsion fracture, and he would be re-evaluated in six weeks. Oklahoma City deserves all sorts of credit for having the best defense in the whole league without Roberson, who is a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber stopper when healthy.  

Jones had surgery on Wednesday, and he might be out for the remainder of the season. The Warriors announced he will “begin the rehab process” six weeks after the surgery. Jones had started in 22 of his 24 games this season, but only averaged 17.4 minutes — Golden State takes a platoon approach to the center position. If he’s done for the year, Golden State will rely on Kevon Looney and Jordan Bell in addition to the still-sidelined Cousins as its traditional 5s. Of course, its best look in the playoffs will probably remain Green playing “center” with Kevin Durant next to him in the frontcourt.

Nov. 29 update: Howard now needs back surgery on two discs, per Stadium’s Shams Charania, and the optimistic timeline is set at eight weeks. It is tempting to say that the Wizards, an awful defensive and rebounding team, could use Howard in the lineup. This, however, ignores that they have actually been worse on both ends with Howard on the court this season. If he ever eventually helps Washington, it will be because he addresses the injuries that have bothered him all season — rather than accompany the team to New Orleans on Wednesday, he went to Los Angeles to see a nerve specialist to try to do just that. 

The mysterious Porter continues to be out indefinitely despite saying he was pain-free in the summer. The 20-year-old was only available to the Nuggets because he had two back surgeries, so he should be seen as a long-term, low-risk, high-upside play. There is no meaningful analysis to be done here, but Denver would love to look brilliant for taking him at No. 14 in the draft if/when he is healthy down the road. 

This sucks so much for both him and the Spurs — Murray is the their best defender, and they have been 23rd in defensive rating. He was supposed to take the leap this season, but that went out the window when he crumpled to the floor in a preseason game. On offense, San Antonio has relied on DeMar DeRozan’s playmaking even more than it planned to, and Bryn Forbes has stepped into a starting role at point guard. We will soon find out if Lonnie Walker can earn a role in the rotation, too. 

The Bulls have been hit with a whole bunch of injuries early in the season, from Markkanen’s elbow to Bobby Portis‘ knee and Kris Dunn’s knee. Valentine is on this list because he is done for the year after undergoing what the team called an “ankle stabilization procedure” on Tuesday — his injury was initially described as a moderate ankle sprain in September.