Players Who’ll Miss The Start Of The 2018-2019 Season
Tomorrow, it’s finally time for the first official games of the 2018-2019 season. It has been a long off season, so the fans and players are definitely ready to play again. Unfortunately, not all players are ready to step on the court this week, as they’re still recovering from injuries.
DeMarcus Cousins
He is stil recovering from his torn achilles, which he sustained early in 2018. It’s quite difficult to predict how long it will take before he’s able to play again, and when he returns, how good he’ll be. The Warriors updated his status at the end of September, saying that Cousins will be out until at least November 2. When he returns, the Warriors will have their All-Star Starting Five, and they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
Dirk Nowitzki
Rick Carlisle, the Mavericks coach, made clear that Dirk will miss at least two more weeks of action. He underwent ankle surgery back in April, but he’s still not 100 percent ready to step on the court. Nowitzki will have a different role this year, as he’ll have to start of the bench behind DeAndre Jordan.
Lauri Markkanen
Markkanen had an impressive rookie season last year, and ended up being voted into the All-Rookie first team. Unfortunately, he injured his elbow during training camp while battling for the rebound, and will be out until at least November 30. As he gained 20 pounds of muscle during the off season, there’s a big chance he’ll be even better than last year.
Russell Westbrook
Westbrook has a arthroscopic knee surgery in the middle of September, and didn’t get an exact timetable for his return. Normally, players can get back to 100% quite quickly after this surgery, but Westbrook was only cleared for ‘controlled contact’ on the 11th of October. So, there’s only a small chance that he’ll be on the court for the Thunder’s first game tomorrow.