NBA playoffs - Injury updates on Steph Curry, Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis and more

The NBA playoffs are less than a month away and both conferences feature seeding races that are sure to come down to the wire. Several top teams are missing key players who could return in time for the playoffs and help their teams' postseason hopes.

The No. 5 Chicago Bulls and No. 6 Cleveland Cavaliers are separated by one game and missing Lonzo Ball and Jarrett Allen, respectively. The Cavs are just one game ahead of the Toronto Raptors and hoping to avoid the play-in tournament.

The Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks are No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10 in the East, respectively, entering Thursday's games, all separated by one game and each missing key players. Will Ben Simmons make his Nets debut this season? Can Gordon Hayward return in time and help LaMelo Ball make a playoff run?

In the West, the struggling Golden State Warriors finally got Draymond Green back from a two-month absence, only to lose Stephen Curry. The Warriors are struggling to hold off the Utah Jazz, who are just three games out of the No. 3 seed. The Denver Nuggets are just a game and a half above the Minnesota Timberwolves for the No. 6 seed, but could get some much-needed help for Nikola Jokic in the coming weeks.

The Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans are locked in a race for home-court advantage in a potential play-in game, with both teams awaiting the returns of their stars. Can Anthony Davis help LeBron James save the Lakers' season? Will Zion Williamson finally make his season debut?

Here's the latest on where injured players stand during the last week of March.

John Collins

Out since March 13 with a plantar fascia tear in his right foot and a right finger sprain

The Hawks announced on March 17 that Collins would be