Report: Jusuf Nurkic To Return In 'Approximately Two Weeks'
It turns out the Trail Blazers will need to try and hold down the fort without the Bosnian Beast for a bit longer than anticipated.
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Jusuf Nurkic is set to make his long-awaited return to the floor in "approximately two weeks."
The Portland Trail Blazers have been without their starting center for two months due to a right wrist fracture, but Nurkic intends to make his return in approximately two weeks, sources informed Yahoo Sports. Head coach Terry Stotts told media members that Nurkic and CJ McCollum (foot) are waiting to be cleared by doctors.
During a March 9 appearance on The Jump, Nurkic said his broken wrist was "doing great" and suggested that he'd return "right after" the All-Star break.
Terry Stotts told reporters several days later, though, that Portland's starting center was more limited in practice than planned due to a calf injury. The Blazers never shed further light on the extent of Nurkic's calf issue, but it's safe to assume even an injury of a minor variety factored into his timeline for a return being pushed back again.
Nurkic suffered a fractured right wrist in Portland's loss to the Indiana Pacers on January 14. Initial expectations placed his return to the floor at approximately eight weeks out from the time of his injury, suggesting he would be available to play in the middle of March.
The Blazers are 15-11 in Nurkic's absence, an especially impressive win-loss total because C.J. McCollum has missed all but one of those games, too. McCollum told The Athletic's Jason Quick on Sunday that he'll be back on the floor "sooner than later."
Portland currently sits at sixth in the Western Conference, but that seemingly solid standing belies the true extent of its grasp on a playoff berth.
Teams that finish between seventh and tenth in each conference, remember, will participate in a tournament at season's end to decide each conference's last two spots in the postseason. Only two games in the loss column separate the Blazers from the tenth-place Memphis Grizzlies.
Portland is in the midst of the easiest stretch of a second-half schedule that ranks among the most difficult in basketball. The sooner Nurkic returns, obviously, the better chance the Blazers have of avoiding must-win drama of the play-in tournament.