NBA teams all over the country have been hit by injuries early and hard. There’s plenty of reasons to be concerned about injuries, especially to important players, even at this early point of the season. This article assesses the impacts of recent injury concerns relating to Miami’s Dwyane Wade, Golden State’s Steph Curry, Atlanta’s Paul Millsap and a couple of others.

Dwyane Wade

Wade is not officially injured. However, he will not be playing in tonight’s game against the Atlanta Hawks for rest purposes. The Miami Heat are being especially mindful of the potential damage from wear and tear on Wade’s knee. This is the second time this season that Wade is not playing because of his need for rest.

Wade has played pretty well through the season so far, but there have also been signs of the sort of concerning up and down (possibly injury related) play that plagued him when he was able to play last year. He is currently averaging just 16.7 points per game, which would be the lowest average of his career since his rookie season if it persists.

If Wade isn’t dealing with any injury concerns, why does he need extra rest? It’s clear that the face of this Miami franchise is still feeling some ill effects.

Paul Millsap

Power forward Millsap will miss the trip to Miami due to tendinitis in his right elbow. The timeline for his return to Atlanta’s line-up is unclear at this point. Millsap is third on the team averaging 15.8 points per game and second averaging 7.7 rebounds.

Millsap is also averaging three assists per game highlighting the terrific balance that he can provide from the inside for the 6-4 Hawks. Atlanta probably doesn’t have the depth to lose Millsap from their line-up in the long-term, but early indications suggest that this isn’t that kind of injury.

Steph Curry

A major point of possible concern for the Golden State Warriors will by Curry’s absence from the line-up on Wednesday due to what has been described as a ‘mild concussion’. Curry hit his head on the floor during a scramble in Monday’s game against the Utah Jazz suffering concussion like symptoms.

There’s no reason to believe that this is anything more than a mild concussion, but concussion is a word that has deservedly become somewhat feared throughout professional sports. It can have very long-term negative effects for a player if not treated right. Curry is also the Warriors’ franchise player and already has long-term ongoing ankle issues, Golden State doesn’t need any more health issues attached to their superstar of the present and future.

Other injury news

New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton could be set to add to his team’s early season woes. He will sit out tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons due to hamstring soreness. Felton’s hamstring concerns date back to the preseason and there must be long-term worries through the 2013-14 season relating to that injury.

Chicago’s Jimmy Butler didn’t practice today and will need to have an MRI done on his toe this week according to Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau. Derick Rose’s injury issues had made Butler an already very valuable piece for this franchise. They need that injury not to be serious.