Jusuf Nurkic

Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic intends to make his return to the court on March 15 against Houston, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Nurkic will be making his comeback nearly a year after suffering the devastating leg injuries that sidelined him for the end of the 2018/19 season and most of the 2019/20 campaign.

“I’m ready to help my team make the playoffs,” Nurkic told Haynes. “It’s time.”

Nurkic suffered compound fractures in his left tibia and fibula on March 25, 2019 against Brooklyn and has been working his way back since then. The Blazers never offered a concrete timeline for when he might return, but reports earlier in the season suggested it might happen around the All-Star break.

Although Nurkic didn’t hit that unofficial target, having reportedly strained his calf when he returned to practice in January, he remains on track to make it back well before the end of the regular season. Last week, the big man talked about needing more practice time to get up to speed — it sounds like that will happen before next Sunday.

A March 15 return would line up Nurkic to play in some or all of Portland’s remaining 15 games, though it remains to be seen how big a role he’ll have. In his conversation with Haynes, he acknowledged that getting used to the speed of NBA games will be a challenge after his year-long layoff.

“I’m not going to be playing 40 minutes,” Nurkic said. “But for me, mentally, I need to get these reps in before I can play (extended minutes). Physically, I’m good. I had a calf strain recently, which is normal for the injury I had. I’ve been pleased with where my rehab is going. I never doubted I’d be back, but I had to make sure I was 100 percent. I can’t wait for (March 15).”

Nurkic was having the best season of his NBA career in 2018/19 before the injury, averaging 15.6 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.4 BPG in 72 games (27.4 MPG). This year, Hassan Whiteside has taken over starting center duties for the Blazers and leads the league with 3.1 BPG. Nurkic’s comments to Haynes suggest he’s willing to take a back seat to Whiteside in the season’s final month if it helps the team win.

“He’s my teammate,” Nurkic said. “I don’t know the plans going forward, but my mind is on how I’m going to help this team make the playoffs. We just need to sacrifice our games for the team’s good, do the little things that don’t show on the stat sheet and put our games together for possibly the playoffs. We have a chance, and when you have a chance, you’ve got to go get it.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With just 22 games left in the Trail Blazers‘ season, center Jusuf Nurkic remains unsure when he might be ready to return to action, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic.

“It’s hard to give hope because there is no dates (for my return), so it’s hard to talk about anything,” Nurkic said. “I have no dates, so all the rumors, they don’t make sense. People are going to say (he’s coming back) today, tomorrow, next week, a week later … but I have no dates.”

Nurkic, who has spent the season recovering from the left leg fractures he sustained last March, returned to practice last month and appeared to be nearing a return to game action. However, he was diagnosed with a right calf strain following that first workout, and it’s unclear whether he has resumed practicing since then, Quick writes.

The big man made it clear that he still needs more practice time, something that can be hard to come by during the NBA season — teams like the Blazers conduct fewer full practices and scrimmages between games in order to avoid overworking players.

“All I know is I’m trying to figure out how I can get more practices, because we don’t have many practices,” Nurkic told Quick. “That’s the only thing I can tell you. That’s the only reason I can come back: If I find somehow to practice. … I can’t be out 11 months and just jump in a game; it doesn’t work out that way.”

The Blazers are still just three games out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference, and as long as they remain in the hunt, Nurkic figures to continue pushing to return in the coming weeks. However, if Portland slumps and starts to fall out of the postseason race, it’s fair to wonder whether getting Nurkic back on the court this season will continue to be a priority for the club.

Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic tells Jason Quick of The Athletic he is about 60% recovered from a compound fracture of his left leg that he suffered in March.

A report earlier this week suggested Nurkic could return sometime around the All-Star game in mid-February. Whenever it happens, Nurkic, who went through an on-court workout with assistant coaches today, can’t wait to start playing again.

“I feel hungry,” he said. “… And when I’m with the team, I feel even more hungry. I lost some weight, and feel great — more explosive, more quick — and when the day comes, I’m going to be the double Beast.”

Nurkic’s injury involved breaks to both his tibia and fibula and required surgeons to implant a graphite rod into his leg. He said he has been pain-free for the past eight months.

Nurkic has some perspective on injuries after undergoing surgery in 2015 to fix a torn patella tendon. He said that experience was more painful, but this one has helped him learn to handle grief, to motivate himself and to express appreciation to the people who have provided support.

“I’ve been through a worse injury before; this one just looked bad,” Nurkic said. “But I’m thankful to God to give me a second chance to play, and personally I feel like I’m growing as a person, appreciating the last year, even though basketball was taken away.”

The Trail Blazers haven’t offered many specifics on Jusuf Nurkic‘s return from the broken leg that has sidelined him to start the 2019/20 season, but Shams Charania of The Athletic hears that the big man is targeting a return close to the All-Star break in February. According to Charnia, Nurkic is making “positive strides” in his rehab process.

While the Blazers knew coming into the season that they’d be without Nurkic for much of the year, they’ve been hit hard by injuries since then, with Zach Collins and Rodney Hood also suffering long-term ailments. Collins is expected to be out through the All-Star break with a dislocated left shoulder, while Hood won’t return this season after tearing his left Achilles.

Hassan Whiteside has been the Blazers’ starting center this season with Nurkic – and Collins – on the shelf. While Whiteside has held his own in the middle and provided solid rim protection, he’s not as reliable a two-way threat as Nurkic, who has been one of Portland’s most valuable players in recent years.

Still, even if Nurkic is able to return in February, it remains to be seen where Portland will be in the Western Conference playoff race by then. The Blazers off to a 10-15 start, which is disappointing but places them just a game-and-a-half behind the eighth-seeded Suns. It’s possible the club will upgrade its roster in the coming weeks or months to help solidify its status as a postseason contender, though president of basketball operations Neil Olshey isn’t talking as if he expects to do anything drastic.