Blazers Offer Positive Injury Updates on Three Key Players Before Lakers Game

The Portland Trail Blazers are in the midst of a 23-32 season in the ever-competitive Western Conference.

As they started the 2024-25 campaign, they were rightfully labeled as a rebuilding squad. The season continued on, and they found themselves coming out of the All-Star break with hopes of a Play-In tournament berth not too far fetched.

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The exact spot that Portland is currently in is a little confusing, but it is somewhere between a young team very much looking to the future, while also immediately contending for a playoff spot.

General manager Joe Cronin spoke on why his young team made no trade deadline moves and decided to ride out the year with the current squad.

“I love what we have,” he said. “I love what we’ve been working on. I love how we’re developing. Right now, we’re learning a lot about each other. It’s been a lot of fun.”

As fun as it has been this year, the work starts again Thursday with an immediate test against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Trail Blazers won 10 of their last 11 games, only dropping a defeat to the team with the NBA's best record in the Oklahoma City Thunder. They followed this run by dropping three straight away contests before the going into the All-Star festivities.

Every game will count moving forward, and Portland will need every advantage they can get in the season's final 27 games.

Head coach Chauncey Billups recently provided some news on their key pieces battling injuries ahead of their return to regular-season play.

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Per Billips, Scoot Henderson, Jerami Grant, and Robert Williams III were full participants in practice for a second straight day. He is optimistic that their core trio will play Thursday against Los Angeles, per Trail Blazers' insider Sean Highkin.

Billups says all three practiced again today and he’s optimistic they’ll be available tomorrow vs. LA. https://t.co/V4wtHDAcKW
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) February 19, 2025

Henderson has been recently finding his groove and looking more comfortable by the day, but missed the final game before the All-Star break. Grant and Williams both missed the final two contests before the break.

Having these three players back on the court will be an instant boost to the Trail Blazers with play-in dreams still in sight.

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For the latest Portland Trail Blazers news and notes, stay glued to Trail Blazers On SI.