During the fourth quarter in Memphis on Sunday, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant laid on the court in agony before heading directly to the locker room with a hand injury that ended his day, helping the Los Angeles Lakers turn a close game into a comfortable road win.
Not long after, a similar scene played out in Milwaukee, where Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo laid on the court grabbing at his back in pain before trying to play through a lower back contusion suffered in the first quarter only to be ruled out the remainder of the evening. Without Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee too fell at home in Game 1 of the first-round series.
The common denominator, besides two of the NBA's most exciting players suffering injuries during the opening weekend of the playoffs: The types of plays on which they were injured. Both Morant and Antetokounmpo fell hard from a high distance while defenders attempted to take charging fouls against them -- successfully for Anthony Davis on Morant, while Kevin Love was called for a blocking foul sending Antetokounmpo to the free throw line.
With the importance of having stars available growing as they miss more time than ever before, it's worth wondering whether the current charge rule does enough to protect players from dangerous falls -- and how we might improve it.
The good news is both Antetokounmpo and Morant, despite each being ruled out for Game 2 of their respective series, avoided serious injury and have a chance to return in the first round. The next star to take a similar fall might not be as lucky.
That's why the NBA would be wise to consider changes to the rule.