Speculating future injuries works both ways. And for any other teams in this league and their schedules. Thats not an argument at all.In a small sample its easy to show how a team is better/worse with a guy. I think the KAT/Rudy splits were actually pretty good. The rest of the team and Rudy have adjusted... there may be a period of re-acclimation for sure. I don't see adding that guy as a big negative though.
We also just flat out don't know how hard their schedule will be, because so much depends on who is available when they come to town. They have a few more road games than home... which is good cuz they *** on the road... but I think mere SOS and counting W/L can be a bit misleading. They just had three home games against Denver, Portland, Clips... I would have said Denver is a loss the other two are 50/50 games... they won all three. End of season they may have some tough teams that are locked in (or out) of the playoffs and have checked out too. They play a team like Sacramento 4 times... what if Sabonis sustains an injury? Well that's 4 games that can turn.
So SOS to me... is one factor... but you can also get some schedule luck with injuries that is unpredictable. I wouldn't guess they make the top 6... I also wouldn't guess they miss the play in completely (the bar is really low... SA or NO made it with like 34 wins irrc) unless they have an injury to Ant. As it stands with normal health I think they have a 70% ish chance to be a play in team.
But lets wait and see how it plays out. Its easier for you since you are either right or happy to be wrong. I'm playing a much more dangerous game with my prediction.