Gino's Jungle

That stupid injury virus is flying around everywhere, and luckily for the Celtics it is not only them. As nasty as we said the top tier teams such as: Orlando, Boston, Cleveland, LA, and maybe even Denver, appeared, they have not shown it thus far into the season. They are not extremely dominant by any means. There are no teams starting the season like the 27-2 Celtics team, or the 33-7 team LA put out on the floor last year. Well they are all dealing with injuries so lets weap for them as well.

Starting atop the east:

1) Cavs: (30-11)

• Shaq- Has missed 6 games- Team record: 5-1
• Varejao- Missed 2 games- Team record: 1-1
• West- Missed 9 games- Team record: 7-2
• Big Z- Missed 1 game- Team record: 1-0
• Moon- Missed 10 games- Team record: 5-5

Combined Missed Games by Key Players: 28

So byfar the biggest loss for the Cavs has been Jamario Moon.... Haha just kidding. He is about as key to the Cavs as maybe Marquis Daniels is to the Celtics. The Cavs are probably a better team without Shaq, so his lossed games really dont mean as much as the loss of Big Z who has only missed 1 game. Delante West is another key to this team, and he is struggling in every aspect. He is a good player as we saw on the Celtics, but I dont know if he has it together enough to really help the team out.

2) Celtics (27-11)

• Garnett- Has missed 9 games- Team record: 5-4
• Pierce- Has missed 5 games- Team Record: 2-3
• Rondo- Has missed 1 game- Team Record: 1-0
• Sheed- Has missed 3 games- Team Record: 1-2
• Big Baby- Has missed 28 games- Team Record: 22-6
• Daniels- Has missed 19 games- Team Record 12-7

Combined Missed Games by Key Players: 65

We haven't had a complete team yet this year. Whether it be the explosive bench we expected, or the same starting 5 that has had 2 years to gel, there is alot of room for error when this many games have been missed. The top 2 on this list are clearly the ones we care about the most, however the Big Baby's, Sheed's, and Daniels of the world mean alot to the team as well. They are the players to come in and HOLD not let the lead SLIP.

3) Atlanta (26-13)

• Evans- Has missed 1 game- Team Record: 1-0
• Williams- Has missed 1 game- Team Record: 1-0

Combined Missed Games by Key Players: 2

Thats all she wrote. You can't really blame them, though, because they have a young team. I don't personally expect a young team to play with as many injuries as the Celtics and Cavs do as those teams have veteran players who have been around a while. This only helps to explain their standing in the Eastern Conference, however, and eventually some sort of injuries will catch up to them, leading me to feel confident in saying, this team wont even be contending with the Celtics, Cavs, or Magic come April. They have felt no adversity yet.

4) Magic (26-14)

• Anderson- Has missed 8 games- Team Record: 4-4
• Carter- Has missed 7 games- Team Record: 5-2
• Gortat- Has missed 1 game- Team Record: 1-0
• Lewis- Has missed 10 games- Team Record: 7-3
• Nelson- Has missed 17 games- Team Record: 13-4
• Pietrus- Has missed 2 games- Team Record: 1-1

Combined Missed Games by Key Players: 45

The Magic have had some very key losses like Nelson and Lewis being out for the extended period of time they were out for. This far into the year both Nelson and Lewis are far off their career averages. As the year goes on we will have to see if it becomes an issue with this team, or if they will get back on track. Of all the teams in the league, it seems as though the Magic are battling with the Celtics for the most injuried plagued teams. (Among contenders- Sorry TrailBlazers fans, but I dont consider you "Title Contenders")

Now to the West where I will talk about the only team the Celtics are worried about

1) Lakers (31-9)

• Artest- Has missed 5 games- Team Record: 4-1
• Bynum- Has missed 2 games- Team Record: 2-0
• Gasol- Has missed 17 games- Team Record: 11-6
•  Adam Morrison has missed 20 games.... But for some reason I don't think its due to injury....

Combined Missed Games by Key Players: 24

Alright now Laker fan, give me a break. I dont need all these postings crying about how your team is all banged up and saying "Another one goes down". With the exception of Pau Gasol, you have not even partially grasped the concept of what it means for a team to be injury plagued. Kobe has not missed a game but in strong quotes I will mention he had a "Finger Injury".  Gasol is a key part to the Laker team, and if he doesn't stay healthy LA will slip. As for Artest, so far into this season he has not been as big a factor as thought to be when he was signed in the offseason.

(Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)