NBA Playoffs Could Come Down to Health of Best Teams

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As a coach, Jeff Van Gundy occasionally fudged the severity of a player’s injury to the news media: maybe the player was hurt more, or even hurt less. In the playoffs, when an edge can be gained, it is done gleefully.

Upon hearing that Kevin Garnett could miss the playoffs with a knee injury, Van Gundy voiced the skepticism of a veteran coach. Then, when asked about the Boston Celtics’ chances of repeating as N.B.A. champions if the injury indeed precluded Garnett from playing, he said: “It ends them. You don’t lose Hall of Fame players like that and recover. If I posed the same question — What would happen if Kobe Bryant went out for the Lakers? — what would the answer be?”