The Thunder beat the Blazers on Monday night, keeping themselves alive in the race for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. That part didn’t have much drama. But the Blazers suffered two more injuries to rotation players when they least afford them.
Nicolas Batum was helped off the court in the first quarter after suffering an apparent knee injury:
And C.J. McCollum suffered an ankle sprain in the second quarter:
The Blazers were already scraping for depth on the wing, with season-ending injuries to Wesley Matthews and Dorell Wright. Arron Afflalo is also out with a shoulder injury. McCollum had been playing well in increased minutes, so the Blazers have to hope this injury isn’t serious. Otherwise, they’re going to have virtually no depth and hope that the likes of Allen Crabbe and Tim Frazier can suffice against the Clippers, Rockets or Grizzlies. (Spoiler alert: that’s unlikely.)
