Injuries are a staple of the first few days of training camp. It’s only natural when you have a collection of players who have spent the summer without constant 5-on-5 NBA competition, mixed with guys who are scrapping just to get a job in the League.

But there are a few players being watched more closely than your average, whose teams are terrified to see them so much as wince right now. They’re the ones coming back from injuries that grounded them for significant chunks of last season and distinctly hurt their teams in the process. Included on that list: KG, Monta Ellis, T-Mac, Michael Redd, Al Jefferson, Elton Brand, Amar’e, Manu Ginobili and Gilbert Arenas. Read More »

Today is a big day if you’ve been going through basketball withdrawal, as the first NBA preseason game tips off at 9 p.m. EST, Jazz versus Nuggets. Deron‘s shakes against Chauncey‘s shot, Carmelo‘s O against Kirilenko‘s D, Boozer‘s excessive chest hair against K-Mart‘s excessive tats — even if it’s only for a few minutes here and there before guys like Arron Afflalo and Kosta Koufos get most of the minutes, we’ve really missed the League. And if the backups do get a lot of time, that means we’ll at least get a good look at Ty Lawson and Eric Maynor … Kirilenko (quad), C.J. Miles (hip flexor) and Kyle Korver (knee) might not play, but Jerry Sloan‘s biggest personnel problem will be figuring out what to do with Boozer and Paul Millsap. Read More »