Basketball Prospectus: Pelton: Measuring Health

File this one away for reference should the Hawks claim injuries as the cause of their regression this regular season and/or promote the re-signing of any or all of Jamal Crawford, Damien Wilkins and Jason Collins as a means of unlocking potential. Though much harder hit by injuries than the 2010-11 Hawks, this year's team, whether you measure by players injured, games lost to injury, minutes lost to injury, or quality of players injured, has suffered less from injuries than at least two-thirds of the league. Pelton:

Emphasizing quality over quantity of injuries also tends to give more credence to the notion that the Bulls have had a lot to overcome in terms of health. They vault all the way to fifth in the league. Noah ranks as the third most significant injury behind Oden and Yao. Of course, this doesn't take into account the quality of the replacements Chicago had on hand. The Bulls scarcely missed Noah because Kurt Thomas and Omer Asik played so well in his absence.

The Hawks were severely unprepared for any injuries to their top seven players because the roster lacks quality depth and because of Larry Drew's reluctance, inexcusable given the lack of quality options on the bench, to play Zaza Pachulia and Jeff Teague regularly for much of the season. So, though the Hawks, relative to the league, suffered small losses from the injuries themselves, poor decision-making in the front office and on the sideline aggravated those losses. I'd chalk up the difference between this season's wins and last season's wins (five games and counting) to equal parts injuries, personnel decisions, and Jamal Crawford's thoroughly predictable reversion to his career norms.