The NBA injury report has updates for players like Kyrie Irving, Brandon Jennings, Bradley Beal, Jonas Valanciunas, Iman Shumpert, Emmanuel Mudiay, Harrison Barnes, Marcus Smart, Rudy Gobert and Mike Dunleavy heading into this week.
Kyrie Irving made his long-awaited debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday and he is in line to start again for the team against the Warriors on Christmas Day. The Cavaliers have been playing without Irving all season and he made return against the Sixers and played 17 minutes in the game. David Blatt said the team will be monitoring Irving's playing time early on, as they do not want to put too much pressure on his knee after having surgery this summer.
The Cavaliers also saw Iman Shumpert return after dealing with a minor groin injury, as he was able to play 16 minutes against the Sixers on Sunday. Shumpert had previously sat out against the Thunder and now should be fine moving forward for the Cavaliers. Bradley Beal is dealing with a right leg injury and remains out for the Wizards. According to the Washington Post, Beal was diagnosed with a stress reaction and the initial report had Beal staying off the court for at least two weeks. Beal still has more time to go before being re-evaluated and the report says that Beal will likely have a minutes restriction when he returns.
Emmanuel Mudiay remains out for the Nuggets and he has not been able to start practicing yet, according to Chris Dempsey at the Denver Post. The team hoped that Mudiay could return over the weekend after dealing with an ankle injury, but he remains questionable for the team heading into their next game on Tuesday. Mudiay has missed four games with the injury.
Brandon Jennings has started to make his way back for the Pistons, as the point guard was recalled from the D-League after playing 27 minutes and scoring 11 points. Jennings is coming back from an Achilles injury and the Pistons have said that he will start off behind Steve Blake in the rotation. Jennings likely will have some restrictions on his minutes to start, but he should be able to regain a spot behind Reggie Jackson eventually.
Jonas Valanciunas has been dealing with a hand injury, but he is ready to start practicing, according to Jeff Zillgitt. The Raptors have been without Valanciunas for 15 games and he could return soon now that he can start basketball activities again. Harrison Barnes remains out for the Warriors with an ankle injury, but is expected to return soon. Rudy Gobert has been dealing with a knee injury and he is making progress and could return in January.
