I don't think it was trying to make amends, I just think injuries weren't implemented properly or not working out so they were removed (for the most part) but the "injured" animations and acknowledgement in the commentary has been left behind. Aside from the dependence on shooting fouls to trigger them, injuries were much better in NBA Live 06 as they are a part of the game and should be represented. As for their frequency, well, that's what the Injury Frequency slider was for.
Come to think of it, we've lost a few sliders in recent games that would be handy in tweaking the gameplay as necessary.