5 Injuries that will impact the 2019 NBA playoffs

#1 Clint Capela

Houston Rockets v Denver Nuggets

The Houston Rockets are on a wild ride this season. After dominating the regular season last year with 65 wins, the Rockets pushed Golden State to a 7 game Western Conference Final game before bowing out to the eventual NBA Champions.

This season started miserably and while the Rockets are now 27-20 and 5th overall in the Western Conference, thanks to some incredible MVP efforts by James Harden, their place in the playoff standings could be in jeopardy. The Rockets could also be a dangerous back end of the playoff bracket opponent.

Just after Christmas, the Rockets lost Chris Paul to a hamstring injury which he may return from quite soon. Eric Gordon was also out for a while with knee trouble. In the meantime, James Harden has been extremely great in carrying the Rockets through this rough time.

However, Clint Capela went down to due to damage on his right thumb. As of January 18th, 2019, he is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Capela had been averaging 17.6ppg, 12.6rpg, and 1.8bpg. Capela is the Rockets' anchor defensively and a rim protector. His backups, at the center spot, Nene and Gary Clark will not be able to make up for his loss.

The Rockets will continue to score at will but now the question is can they stop opponents from scoring? There are rumours that the Bulls want to part ways with Robin Lopez. If that’s true, the Rockets may want to consider a deal with the Bulls in order to secure their playoff ranking.