NBA: 5 players whose absence will affect restart standings the most

5 players whose absence in the NBA bubble will have the most impact

When reports emerged that Davis Bertans and Avery Bradley wouldn’t be playing in the NBA’s restart bubble games, many began speculating how their absence would affect their respective teams.

Over the next few weeks, other role players like Trevor Ariza and DeAndre Jordan announced their expected absences. We’ve now had All-Stars and fringe All-Stars join them in…not joining the league’s restart plan. These five players’ absences will have the greatest effect on the playoff race and quality of games in the Orlando bubble.

NBA players whose absence will make the most impact No. 5 Trevor Ariza

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To be clear, Trevor Ariza hasn’t been good for a while, and his agent deserves serious props for securing his client’s eight-figure annual deals each of the last two summers. Ariza is, however, the Portland Trail Blazers‘ rotation player who can credibly guard small forwards.

Carmelo Anthony and Zack Collins certainly won’t match his efforts on smaller players, meaning their much-discussed win percentage advantage over other potential 9th seeds will likely not bear any fruit.

NBA players whose absence will make the most impact No. 4 Spencer Dinwiddie

Arguably the Brooklyn Nets‘ best player each of the past two seasons, Dinwiddie announced Tuesday his intention to miss the rest of the season after another positive COVID-19 test. With Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan already out, the Nets faced a tough road to retain their half-game lead over the Magic for the 7th seed and avoid a first-round beatdown at the hands of the reigning MVP and the Bucks.

Dinwiddie’s absence opened the door for the Wizards to force two play-in games with the Nets, at least before.

NBA players whose absence will make the most impact No. 3 Bradley Beal

A shoulder injury is a purported cause for Beal’s absence. The leading scorer in his conference, Beal’s Washington Wizards currently sit six games behind the Nets and 5.5 games behind the Magic. They stood a decent chance of winning two more games than the resting Nets to force a play-in scenario, adding some intrigue into the competition to be slain by the Bucks in the playoffs.

With Beal out, it’s unlikely the Wizards even force a play-in tournament.

NBA players whose absence will make the most impact No. 2 Bojan Bogdanovic

We shouldn’t be too sad over the looming failures of fringe playoff teams when superior teams are also hurting from the loss of key players. Bogdanovic was Utah’s 2nd leading scorer this year and a tremendous shooter who opened the offense for Utah.

Without him, Joe Ingles is the only remaining good shooter on the Jazz (failing a resurgence from Mike Conley to his Memphis-era production.) While people can joke and speculate about the Rudy Gobert-Donovan Mitchell relationship affecting this team, they entered the season with odds to exceed 50 wins for a reason.

The loss of Bogdanovic’s efficient 20 points per game makes them a likely first-round out.

NBA players whose absence will make the most impact No. 1 Victor Oladipo

Victor Oladipo’s absence (from games, if not the bubble) is more disappointing than his former teammate’s because he was starting to get his mojo back just before the season paused, and it was entirely possible he could have returned from this hiatus in the 2017-18 form that earned him All-NBA status.

It’s a shame we won’t get to see Indy’s two combo guards develop chemistry together this season. Indy could’ve been a sleeper team to reach the Conference Finals if they avoided the Bucks’ side of the bracket, and a threat to push the Bucks to seven games in an eventual series. Tied for 5th with Philadelphia, they feel destined to fall to 6th and again be beaten down by the Celtics in the first round.