NBA Playoffs 2012: Denver Nuggets and Teams Getting Healthy at the Perfect Time

The NBA playoffs are all about whose healthy this year after one of the most grueling four-month stretches in the history of the game.

Some teams are dealing with injuries to their stars (Chicago, Orlando, New York) while others enter the postseason rather tired (Miami, LA Lakers, Boston).

But for the following teams, injuries hampered expectations at some point during the season, but now have the majority of the squad back and rested for what promises to be a completely wide-open postseason race.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets had awful luck with injuries this season, but aside from the season-ending one to Wilson Chandler and Rudy Fernandez, they enter the postseason healthy, and as one of the more rested teams in the playoffs.

After dealing with injuries all season, Danilo Gallinari is back and has had eight games to get himself back into game shape. He’s fresh and that’s extremely important considering Gallinari is the guy Denver expects to be their crunch-time scorer.

With the emergence of Kenneth Faried and the addition of JaVale McGee to replace the often injured Nene, this team suddenly has a defensive presence.

With the Lakers looking like the likely first-round opponent, the seven game suspension for Ron Artest is going to really help the Nuggets out.

I know they have lost in the first round in eight of the last nine years…but this is a new-look team with fresh legs playing a team that’s much older and possess far less depth.

Memphis Grizzles

The big name here is Zach Randolph.

After returning in mid-March, he began to come off the bench and the results have been magnificent. The team has won 10 of 12 games, including five straight as the teams seems to be playing their best defense of the year.

Z-Bo enters the playoffs only averaging roughly 26 minutes a game, meaning he’s as rested as it gets for this time of season.

Expect Memphis to insert him into the starting lineup for the playoffs so he can provide that coveted low posting scoring threat while allowing Marc Gasol to operate on the high post.

The Grizz are one of the most dangerous teams in the entire postseason.

San Antonio Spurs

After getting shocked by the Grizzles last year, the team decided they needed to have the best record in the Western Conference to ensure they don’t see them in Round 1 again.

Ok, maybe not, but the Spurs do enter the postseason with all of their top players finally healthy.

Manu Ginobili has missed essentially half the season, and has logged enough minutes since his return to not miss a beat in the postseason.

The same can be said of Stephen Jackson, who has only been with the team for a month, but is really beginning to gel with the team and enters the postseason well aware of the role he plays on this team.

The Spurs are much healthier and better rested than last year.

Beware. 

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