PORTLAND, Ore. — The short-handed Portland Trail Blazers, losers of four in a row and in need of reinforcements, reported Thursday that Nassir Little and Justise Winslow are progressing well in their return from injuries.
Thirteen Blazers players have missed a combined 117 games to injury this season, according to spotrac.com. The Blazers rank seventh in the NBA in games missed to injury. Gary Payton II, who recently returned from injury, leads the way with 38 games missed. Little has missed 18 games, the second-highest total on the team, while Winslow has missed 11, one behind Damian Lillard, who missed 12 games earlier this season with a calf injury.
In a bit of a surprise, Lillard's name popped up on the injury list that was released Wednesday night for Thursday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although he was listed as questionable, the Blazers' superstar point guard, averaging team highs in points (27.4) and assists (7.1), will play in Thursday's game, according to reporter Casey Holdahl.
Nassir Little injured his right hip on Dec. 2 against the Los Angeles Clippers. The team reported at the time he was expected to miss six weeks. Friday will be six weeks since Little's injury. In Thursday's news release, the Blazers said Little has returned to on-court contact activities, though an official return date has yet to be determined.
Little, in his fourth season with the Blazers, is averaging 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15.3 minutes across 21 games this season, while shooting career highs from the field (47.3%) and 3-point line (37.2%).
Winslow sprained his left ankle against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 21. The team announced Dec. 26 that he'd be re-evaluated in two weeks. Thursday's re-evaluation showed "significant improvement in both symptoms and function," the team said, but Winslow will miss at least the next two weeks.
Prior to the injury, Winslow, the Blazers' top reserve this season, played in 29 games, averaging 6.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 26.8 minutes.
Without Winslow and Little, Portland has had to rely on a young and inexperienced bench that has struggled to produce. The bench has averaged 20.2 points per game since Winslow went down, down from 25.4 points prior to the injury.
Since Winslow was injured, Portland has lost seven of nine, including four in a row. The banged-up Blazers have seen their offensive production plummet, with a 109.7 offensive rating over the past nine games, down from an offensive rating of 114.0 prior to losing Winslow.
