NBA Power Rankings: Raptors rising despite impact injury

Harrison Barnes: The Warriors haven’t had to deal with a major injury to one of their big three, but Barnes is still an important piece for the NBA’s best team. The Iowa native was sidelined from Nov. 28 through Jan. 2, a stretch where Golden State lost two of its five games on the season.

Manu Ginobili: Ginobili went down with a groin injury on Feb. 4 and isn’t expected back until later this month. The Spurs miss his 10 points per game off the bench, but they’ll be more than fine so long as he’s healthy for the playoffs.

N/A: OKC has been blessed with an incredible bill of health to this point in the season. If the Thunder are to have any chance against the Spurs or Warriors in the playoffs, it needs to stay that way.

DeMarre Carroll: The Raptors’ big off-season acquisition has undergone arthroscopic knee surgery and hasn’t seen game action since Jan. 3. In total, he’s appeared in just 23 of Toronto’s 58 games. Still, the Raptors sit within striking distance of the East’s first seed and his return could be the piece to push them to the top.

Kyrie Irving: The superstar point guard has only appeared in 33 of his team’s 58 games due to the knee injury that knocked him out of last year’s NBA Finals.

Blake Griffin: The Clippers keep trudging along despite not having their best player in the lineup. Griffin was making headlines for all the wrong reasons in January after breaking his hand punching a team staffer.

Marcus Smart: The Celtics have greatly exceeded expectations in 2015-16 and had to get the job done without Smart during an 18-game stretch in November and December. The guard has lost his spot in the starting lineup since returning from injury, but remains a key to Boston’s success.

Chris Bosh: Bosh could very well miss the rest of the season after blood clots appeared in his calf. This is the second straight year the big man has had this issue and his career could be in jeopardy.

Damian Lillard: ‘Dame’ has been an absolute monster this season, currently carrying the Trail Blazers into a playoff position out West. He did miss seven games at the end of 2015, one of which the Blazers lost to the Jazz – a team they’re battling for one of the final seeds.

Marc Gasol: Gasol is the key to what the Grizzlies do on both offence and defence. Memphis’s hopes of doing any damage in the playoffs are out the window now that Gasol is done for the rest of the year.

Al Jefferson: The Hornets are an intriguing team now that they have their main pieces healthy (aside from the oft-injured Michael Kidd-Gilchrist). Jefferson was out of commission for all but two games between Nov. 30 and Feb. 19, but his return gives Charlotte a shot in the arm.

Tiago Splitter: Splitter’s first season away from the Spurs hasn’t gone so well as he’s only averaged 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. The Brazilian has undergone hip surgery and won’t play again until the fall.

Devin Harris: The former all-star guard has battled numerous small injuries so far, the main culprit being a left toe sprain. Harris is not the same player he was with the Nets, but he is still useful for Rick Carlisle as a weapon off the bench.

C.J. Miles: The Pacers have enjoyed a relatively healthy year (maybe it’s karma for Paul George last season) but C.J. Miles has missed the past five games with a calf strain. For a team clinging to a playoff spot, they need all hands on deck.

Bradley Beal: One of the most dynamic shooting guards in the league when healthy, Beal has only been able to suit up in 37 games. The Wizards missed him dearly while he was out.

Seemingly everyone: Take your pick here: Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic, Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose.

Donatas Motiejunas: The Lithuanian forward has missed all but 15 games for the Rockets, but that’s not the main reason why his injury has been so impactful. Houston had a three-team trade in place that would send Motiejunas to Detroit, but complications arose during the physical and the deal was rescinded.

Jodie Meeks: Meeks played in Detroit’s first two games of the season, but has been in street clothes ever since after undergoing foot surgery. He should be able to return sometime this month, and could help boost the Pistons’ playoff chances.

Alec Burks: Utah has a number of young players that should have the fan base excited about the future. One of those guys is the 24-year-old Burks, who was having the best season of his career before being lost to ankle surgery on Boxing Day.

N/A: Orlando’s young core has been able to remain healthy. Nikola Vucevic, Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Evan Fournier have all avoided major stints on the injured list.

Tyreke Evans: Known for his versatility, Evans won’t play again in 2015-16 after knee surgery. His 15.2 points, 6.6 assists and 5.2 rebounds could really help the Pelicans.

Greivis Vasquez: The Venezuelan point guard was expected to be a big part of Jason Kidd’s backcourt, but the former Raptor only managed to play 16 underwhelming games before heading under the knife.

Wilson Chandler: Fitting for how the Nuggets’ season has gone, Chandler never even got a chance to suit up for a game. He suffered an injury in the preseason and underwent hip surgery in November.

Willie Cauley-Stein: The jury is still undecided on the Kings’ rookie, but he’s averaging a double-double per 36 minutes. His 14 games missed this year aren’t the reason Sacramento has struggled, but the absence could have cost him a little bit in terms of development.

Nikola Pekovic: The dominance of Karl-Anthony Towns has softened the blow of losing the veteran Pekovic for the majority of the year. In his 13 games this season, he’s averaging career-lows in points, rebounds, field-goal percentage and minutes.

Jarrett Jack: Jack was averaging better than 12 points and seven assists per game before he tore his ACL. The point guard would have likely drawn interest from a number of teams at the trade deadline to help the Nets try to put some future plans in place. Just Brooklyn’s luck.

Carmelo Anthony: The Knicks were looking like they might sneak into the playoffs but a brutal February has all but eliminated those hopes. Anthony has only been out of the lineup seven times, but New York is 0-7 in those games.

Eric Bledsoe: Phoenix’s season has been completely ruined for quite some time now, but Bledsoe’s season-ending injury was the back-breaker. 20.4 points per game is pretty difficult to replace.

Kobe Bryant: Bryant’s 11 games missed really don’t matter for the Lakers on the court. But those are 11 games where fans might have missed the chance to see the legend for the final time.

Joel Embiid: The third pick in the 2014 draft has yet to see the floor for the 76ers. There’s always next year, right?