It seems as if the 2008-09 NBA season has seen more injuries than usual. This year, unlike most years, may actually come down to which team can stay the healthiest. Right now, nearly every elite team is dealing with some sort of injury.

The Los Angeles Lakers don’t have Andrew Bynum right now. Bynum, the team’s starting center, is out with a torn MCL. Last season, Bynum suffered a knee injury and missed the end of the regular season and the postseason. The good news is that this year, Bynum is expected back before the beginning of the playoffs.

In Boston, the Celtics recently lost Kevin Garnett for up to three weeks with a sore knee. Without Garnett, who last year won the Defensive Player of the Year award and helped lead the Celtics to an NBA championship, winning will become a lot harder for the Celtics.

The Phoenix Suns just learned that Amare Stoudemire suffered a detached retina and could be out for the rest of the regular season. That is a devastating loss for the Suns, who could conceivably fall out of the playoff race without Stoudemire’s services.

Manu Ginobili suffered a stress reaction near his ankle and will be sidelined for at least two weeks. Ginobili, who had offseason ankle surgery, is a key cog to the Spurs machine and a player who is needed if the Spurs have any hopes of winning this year’s NBA championship.

In Houston, the Rockets will have to go the rest of the way without Tracy McGrady. The star swingman has a knee injury that will require microfracture surgery. McGrady will miss the rest of this season and could even miss games at the beginning of next year.

All in all, the injury report may be more important in the NBA these days than the actual standings.

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