Portland Trail Blazers will face the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night in San Francisco. The Blazers will have a significant changed roster in the last 20-something games of the season.
Damian Lillard is recovering from a surgery to repair an abdominal injury. It’s unclear if Lillard will return this season.
During his appearance in Draymond Green’s podcast, the Blazers’ superstar noted he’s not in a rush to return despite progressing well.
“I had surgery on January 13th, and on the 14th I had therapy, yoga, it was like right away,” Lillard said (h/t to Sports Illustrated). “Just start moving, attacking it, and building that strength back up.
Since then, it’s been every day… I’m back on the move now, just cutting, sprinting, jumping, and things like that. Now it’s just a mater of strengthening my adductors and that groin area… I’m getting there quick. I’m moving, I’m just not in a rush.”
On Wednesday, the Blazers announced Jusuf Nurkic will be out for at least four weeks. He will be re-evaluated after the initial timeline. However, Portland may choose to keep him out.
The Blazers are tenth in the West with a 25-34 record. They are 2.0 games ahead from 11th seeded Spurs, which are tied with the Pelicans at 23-36.
While Portland currently holds the final play-in spot in the Western Conference, their moves at the deadline indicate little interest in actually holding on to that spot.
Portland traded away several veteran pieces, including Robert Covington, Larry Nance Jr. and Norman Powell. They recently upgraded Trenton Watford’s contract and signed Drew Eubanks on a 10-day contract to cover for the injured Nurkic.
Portland will hope to secure a high draft pick next offseason to use it as a trade piece in order to retool the roster around Damian Lillard.
In any case, Anfernee Simons is expected to carry the burden in offense in the remaining games. The promising guard is putting up career-high numbers this year.
He’s averaging 17.0 points on 44.7 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc through 53 games.
The Blazers may be in for a “bumpy ride” in the last 20-something games. However, they could help them retool their roster next offseason.
Photo: USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
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