The NBA injury report has updates for players like Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Kobe Bryant, DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Johnson heading into the Tuesday schedule.
Kevin Durant was wearing a knee brace against the Wizards on Monday, but the injury is not considered to be serious. According to the Oklahoman, the Thunder did not elaborate about why Durant was wearing the brace on his right knee. Head coach Billy Donovan told reporters to speak with Durant about the brace, but Durant did not speak with reporters before leaving the locker room after the game.
Durant appeared to be fine during the game, scoring 28 points and making nine of 18 shots and he did not look as if he was favoring one knee over the other. DeMarcus Cousins sat out for the Kings on Monday while dealing with an ankle injury. According to Marc Spears at Yahoo Sports, Cousins had trouble putting weight on the ankle coming into the game, but the injury is not considered to be serious.
Kobe Bryant has been dealing with some shoulder soreness and he is "50-50" to play on Tuesday against the Timberwolves, according to ESPN Los Angeles. Bryant has been dealing with the shoulder issue all season and he comes in after playing 23 minutes on Sunday in the game for the Lakers. Bryant had 23 points in the game against the Hornets and while the shoulder injury is not considered serious, Bryant could sit out against the Wolves.
Hassan Whiteside has continued to be sidelined for the Heat and he will be out against the Rockets on Tuesday with a hip injury. Whiteside has been out for five straight games and he has been replaced in the lineup with Amar'e Stoudemire for Miami. Whiteside reportedly has no timetable to return for Miami. Tyler Johnson is also out for the Heat and will undergo surgery for a shoulder injury. The team announced that Johnson will have surgery this week and Yahoo Sports reports that he will miss two months.
Blake Griffin is out with a broken hand after getting into an altercation with a team staffer and could miss over a month. The original diagnosis had Griffin out between four and six weeks, but ESPN reports that Griffin could end up missing two months with the injury to his hand. Carmelo Anthony has been dealing with some knee soreness, but he has been playing through it for the Knicks. Anthony had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks against the Warriors on Sunday.
