The NBA hiatus has had very few positives. But for the Portland Trail Blazers, when the league resumes, they will likely welcome back two injured players.
No NBA has been tough for a lot of people. Tough for the players, tough for the fans, tough for media. People losing jobs in the industry and then no content for fans. There hasn’t been a lot of good to reflect on.
But there will be some small positives when the season eventually returns. The Portland Trail Blazers will welcome back injured front-court duo Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic.
Collins has been out for six months with a dislocated shoulder, while Nurkic has been out for 12 months with a broken leg. Sadly for Nurkic he was due to return the week after the NBA was postponed.
Nothing can be done about that now though, but we do look forward to both of these guys returning. The delay in Nurkic returning before was due to a leg strain and then not being able to train with the team to get back to full fitness.
With the hiatus probably lasting until at least June, then Nurkic will be more than ready to return. There is probably some concern around him not being able to train with the team due to the NBA’s rules around practising in groups. His inability to continue five-on-five trainings will mean he may lack game shape, but he can still return though as his leg and body have been cleared by the Blazers medical staff.
There have also been videos floating around on Twitter of Nurk shooting threes with ease. Nurk has only attempted 42 three-pointers in his career. 29 of these attempts in the 2018/19 season where he made 3 of them.
If he can now shoot the three, even at just 30 percent, this would be huge for the Blazers spacing and the way teams guard them.
It’s been a long wait for Nurkic, after being injured on the 25th March in 2019. His return will now be a least 15 months after his injury, not the 12 as we thought not that long ago.
Hearing that Zach Collins will be available to return when the season resumes is probably more of a surprise for fans. In a Q&A a week or so ago he said he would be back if the season was to return in May.
His shoulder dislocation was a devastating injury for himself and the team, as they were robbed of their second most important defensive piece with Nurk already out. In an interview with Blazers beat reporter Jason Quick though, Collins talked about how he had used his time away from the game to grow his mind and mental strength.
Collins will be better for this break, even if it obviously wasn’t good for the team and their playoff chances.
It’s tough to speculate on whether the NBA would try and finish the regular season, or if they go straight to the playoffs. If they were to come back and finish the regular season, then the Blazers would have a massive confidence boost with two of their main squad members back on the court.
They have been missed mainly on the defensive end, with the team ranking 26th on the defensive end this season.
If they were to go to the playoffs, then the Blazers inferior record would probably have them missing out. If this was the case then a new NBA season starting in December may have the injured Rodney Hood returning also.
His timeline isn’t as clear as the other two though.
Fans need to cross their fingers that the COVID-19 pandemic can be brought under control and the world can get back to some sense of normality. If this happens, then maybe we see NBA basketball around July.
It will be great to welcome the front-court reinforcements regardless.