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Portland Trail Blazers: Nassir Little goes down with ankle sprain

By Ryan Mandel

PORTLAND, OREGON - OCTOBER 08: Nassir Little #9 of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on against the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter during their preseason game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on October 08, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - OCTOBER 08: Nassir Little #9 of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on against the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter during their preseason game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on October 08, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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Just when it looked like things couldn’t get any worse for the Trail Blazers in Denver, Nassir Little went down with a potentially serious ankle sprain late in the 4th quarter.

Add Nassir Little to the already long list of injuries that the Portland Trail Blazers have sustained this year. Although we can only speculate on the severity of Little’s ankle sprain at this point, it is pretty safe to say that he will miss at least a few games. Thankfully for Little and the Blazers, X-rays on his left ankle came back negative, which is relatively good news considering how serious the injury initially looked.

While this news might not feel all that terrible when compared to the injuries of Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins, Rodney Hood, and Skal Labissiere, it could not come at a worse time for Little. Over the last few weeks, Little had finally started shooting the ball with confidence and appeared to be turning a corner offensively.

Despite only averaging 7.8 points and 2.3 rebounds over his last four games, his 44.4 percent shooting from deep over that span was an encouraging indicator of the amount of work he has been putting into his jump-shot as of late. Kevin Calabro and Lamar Hurd even mentioned the rookie’s sharpshooting progress on last night’s broadcast.

Although Little may not be seen as a vital part of Portland’s rotation, he has done an excellent job in his role as a defensive, rim-running slasher. Nassir appears to be a significant upgrade over Mario Hezonja, who will probably soak up most of his minutes should he miss significant time.

It would have been nice for the Blazers to simply forget about tonight’s disappointing 28 point loss to the Nuggets and move on. Winning 4 out of 5 games against the Pacers, Rockets, Lakers, Jazz, and Nuggets is no small feat, and Portland should be proud of the progress they have made over the last few weeks, despite this injury to Nassir Little.

We will probably get a better idea as to the severity of Little’s injury and the time he will miss soon, considering it’s often hard to correctly diagnose an injury while it’s still swollen. However, minor ankle injuries typically take 1-2 weeks to heal, while serious ones can take 4-6 weeks. Let’s just hope the injury gods give the Blazers a break this time so that they can finally start to roll out a healthy roster and make a playoff push.

Next. GTJ, Little benefitting from Lillard's greatness. dark

The Trail Blazers next play on Thursday, February 6, as they take on the San Antonio Spurs at home. Tip-off is at 7 pm.