Will the NBA's postseason injury bug equal an asterisk for this year's champion?
1 hour ago share facebook twitter reddit link  When you're telling the all-time NBA Finals story, it's hard to exclude Phil Jackson's name  for more reasons than one. Jackson  the man who won 11 rings as a coach and two as a player  has had a profound impact on the league, not just with his winning ways but with his words. Consider that he used the term "asterisk" in relation to an NBA championship years ago, when he said the San Antonio Spurs' 1999 NBA title was marred due to a strike-shortened season. That term is still alive and well today, and it returned to prominence last season, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NBA to halt midseason and then complete the playoffs in the Orlando bubble. With that, some think the Los Angeles Lakers' "bubble" championship comes with a little caveat. Now, even though this regular season was nearly back to normal  teams played 72 games instead of 82  there is a new concern that the NBA is facing: injuries to star players. And after Tuesday night, you can add Giannis Antetokounmpo to the long list of players who have been attacked by the injury bug this postseason. Consider this: Eleven star-to-superstar-level players  not including Antetokounmpo  have missed games this postseason due to injury or COVID-19. That list includes Joel Embiid (knee  one game), James Harden (hamstring - three games), Kyrie Irving (ankle  three games), Trae Young (foot  one game), Donovan Mitchell (ankle  one game), Anthony Davis (groin  one game), Jaylen Brown (wrist  five games), Mike Conley (hamstring  five games), Chris Paul (healthy and safety protocols  two games), Kawhi Leonard (knee  seven games) and Jamal Murray (knee  10 games). Those players' teams are a combined 17-22 in games without their stars. On "First Things First," Nick Wright said that a title is a title, but it can't be ignored that this postseason has been defaced by a rash of unfortunate injuries. "This year, if you are an avid basketball fan, you are going to remember that this was a unique postseason, just like last year's was a unique postseason.  While injuries are a part of every postseason, there had never been more than six All-Stars miss a game in a postseason. If Giannis misses a game, it will be up to 11." Still, there is the camp that firmly believes injuries are a part of the game, and Colin Cowherd could arguably be described as the leader of that camp. On Wednesday morning, he took to task the idea that this year's postseason will be defined by who didn't play rather than which team won the title, saying that with or without the injuries, the playoffs would have followed the same path. "The Bucks scored 38 points at half when Giannis was healthy. Well Colin, the Suns They were the No. 2 seed in the West. They played together so they have this great chemistry. It's not a surprise they're here. Kawhi Leonard's injury' Timeout  Kawhi Leonard's in and out of the lineup for everybody he plays for. "'Well, what about the Lakers?'  [Anthony Davis] got hurt. Which, ya know, its Anthony Davis. He's always hurt.  Jamal Murray's injury. They were swept by Phoenix. You gonna tell me with Jamal Murray they would have won?" Wednesday's Game 6 between the Suns and Clippers will once again be void of Leonard, but LA is still favored to push the Western Conference finals to a Game 7, according to FOX Bet. As for the Eastern Conference finals, the NBA world is in wait-and-see mode regarding Giannis' knee and Young's foot. One thing  if not the health of players  is for sure, however: Rings don't come with asterisks. Only diamonds. For more up-to-date news on all things NBA, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app! Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more.