PORTLAND, Ore. — It’s been nearly a year since Jusuf Nurkic suffered a devastating leg fracture that stunned his teammates and the entire city of Portland. But it appears Blazers fans will see the Bosnian Beast’s return soon.
According to a report last week from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Blazers are targeting Sunday’s home game against the Houston Rockets as the day Nurkic plays in NBA game for the first time since March 25 of last year.
Following practice on Monday, Nurkic said that’s a moment he’s played out in his head countless time during his rehab.
“I’ve just been looking forward to it for a long time. I want to cry. I’m not going to cry but there’s just so much going on,” he said.
Nurkic said he has one more “checkpoint” to pass before returning to the court, and that will be a practice on Wednesday with the G League Santa Cruz Warriors.
FULL INTERVIEW: Nurkic talks return to Blazers
Head coach Terry Stotts said the organization wanted to give the big man another opportunity for a full practice before his potential return Sunday.
“It’s an opportunity for him to have contact, to go full court, to just get some rhythm,” Stotts said. “It’s more about him feeling comfortable being on the court with nine other bodies.”
As for practice on Monday, Stotts said Nurkic was “moving really well.” All-Star point guard Damian Lillard agreed, saying Nurkic was guarding pick-and-rolls, making plays at the rim and shooting jumpers.
“He looked like himself,” Lillard said.
And Nurkic says he feels like himself, which was always the most important factor going into his return. It appeared Nurkic was set to potentially be back in February before suffering a calf strain on Jan. 23. He said his leg issues are in the past and he’s now focused on getting his rhythm back at NBA game speed, and helping the Blazers make a desperation push to the playoffs.
“There’s a lot ways I can impact the game. It doesn’t have to be just scoring. I still feel like I can do a lot out there that we don’t have right now,” Nurkic said.
The Blazers center will be under a minutes restriction when he returns, although Stotts said it hasn’t been determined what that restriction will be. And the Blazers, sitting on a 28-37 record and 4.5 games out of the final playoff spot with 17 games left in the season, will take any production they can get from the Bosnian Beast.
“I’m not just coming back because we’re struggling,” Nurkic said. “I’m coming back because I think I’m 100%.”
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