With NBA training camps now open, every team will be using October to try to answer questions about their rosters. But for teams with injured stars, the questions have greater significance.
Like, how long can the Lakers stay afloat without Kobe Bryant?
Is Danny Granger going to come off the bench for the Pacers?
Are the Warriors really a better team without David Lee?
No less than nine current or former All-Stars will start the 2013-14 season with doubt swirling around them because they are coming off a serious injury. They comprise the majority of our list, which we like to call The Disabled Dozen.
Yes, there are other key players who have injury issues; Big Baby Davis, Emeka Okafor and Nerlens Noel are just a few.
But they play for teams that aren’t expected to do much this season.
The 12 players listed below have significant impact on their teams, and their health could be the difference between a second-round exit and the NBA Finals.
And for some, their return date could be the difference between whether their team chooses to tank or compete.
KOBE BRYANT: The superstar guard’s well-established threshold for pain and ability to bounce back from injury has falsely led us to believe that he has been taking the “superman pills” dispensed to program participants in The Bourne Legacy. But with the Lakers having begun training camp, we know that is not the case. Last week, Lakers trainer Gary Vitti said Bryant is still a “few weeks away” from weight-bearing running on his ruptured Achilles tendon, which comes before basketball activities. There’s a huge difference between jumping off a 40-foot platform into a pool and taking Kawhi Leonard off the dribble. If Bryant returned in eight months from the time of the injury – a remarkable recovery rate – it would still be mid-December before he took the court. The team’s biggest issue will be tempering Bryant’s competitive drive with the anticipated struggles the Lakers expect to have this season.
DERRICK ROSE: This is the most anticipated return of a player since Michael Jordan came out of his second retirement to play for the Wizards. When Rose tore his ACL in late April 2012, he was the reigning MVP and made the Bulls legitimate championship contenders. At media day, he said, “I think I’m going to play the same way,” which indicates that he feels comfortable making his uncanny indefensible high-speed contortions. His teammates also are jacked up about his return, and Jimmy Butler – who has been working out with Rose of late – says the point guard might even be better. Expect Rose to be limited by the coaching and training staff in exhibition games so he is ready to go full-bore on Opening Night.
RAJON RONDO: Offseason optimism has become regular season reality for the All-Star point guard, whose return date from a torn ACL in January is now projected to be early December by none other than Celtics president Danny Ainge. That 10-month timetable is more in line with conventional recovery and isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the Celtics, who clearly are tanking moving in a new direction and secretly wouldn’t mind being without their best player and floor general for an extended period. Every game without Rondo is one with a rookie coach (Brad Stevens) directing a guy who really isn’t a point guard (Avery Bradley) and is backed up by a rookie (Phil Pressey). If Rondo returns for a Dec. 11 home game vs. the Clippers, he will have missed 23 games, 13 of them vs. playoff teams from last season. That doesn’t sound like a formula for competing, does it?
RUSSELL WESTBROOK: Initially, the All-Star guard’s torn lateral meniscus suffered in the first round of the playoffs wasn’t perceived as being nearly as serious as the ones above. But GM Sam Presti has said that Westbrook may not be ready on Opening Night, and at media day Westbrook said he was “not sure” when he would be ready. This is a 
bit alarming on a number of fronts. First, Westbrook previously was indestructible; his 394 straight games regular-season games is the NBA’s longest current streak. Second, we got a look at the Thunder without Westbrook in the postseason, and it wasn’t pretty, with opponents overloading on Kevin Durant. And third, knee cartilage tears can be recurring (ask Chase Budinger) and impact quickness, a big part of Westbrook’s game. A headstrong player, Westbrook cannot consider his streak when determining his readiness, or it could be another empty season for Oklahoma City.
DWAYNE WADE: The superstar guard clearly was limited in the postseason by a deep bone bruise and tendinitis in his knees but did not have offseason surgery as he did in 2012 and 2007. Instead, he decided against the PRP treatments used by Kobe Bryant and Brandon Roy and opted for Ossatron shock wave therapy, which he also used after the 2007-08 season and returned to win the scoring title. He also hired Tim Grover, Michael Jordan’s former trainer, to help him prepare for this season. Wade has said he will be fully ready to go by Opening Night, but more important is whether he is ready for May and June, when his body has broken down a bit during Miami’s back-to-back championship runs.