Rash of injuries reinforces NBA team’s need for superstars

SAN ANTONIO — In 2001, after his Spurs were swept by the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, Gregg Popovich told then-assistant Mike Brown that teams need at least three perennial All-Stars to win in the playoffs. "I believe he said that because some of that had to do with him feeling that, if somebody goes down or a guy has a bad stretch of three or four games, you need at least two other guys to be able to shoulder the load," Brown, now the Warriors' acting head coach, said before Game 3 of the West finals against the Spurs. … Since MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard left Game 1 of the West finals in the third quarter with a sprained left ankle, the Spurs have been outscored by 61 points. After pummeling the Celtics in Games 1 and 2 of the East finals by a combined 57 points, Cleveland learned that Boston's best player, Isaiah Thomas, would miss the rest of the playoffs with a right hip injury.