Jan 19., 2021 likely won’t be a day fondly remembered by those associated with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Trail Blazers confirmed that guard CJ McCollum will miss at least four weeks due to a hairline fracture in his left foot. Portland has since announced that center Jusuf Nurkic underwent surgery on his fractured right wrist and will be sidelined for a minimum of six weeks.
As noted by an ESPN story, Nurkic suffered the setback in last Thursday’s 111-87 loss to the visiting Indiana Pacers and hadn’t returned to the lineup since the injury. The 26-year-old previously went down to a gruesome break in his left leg in March 2019 and made his 2019-20 season debut during the summer restart held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Per ESPN, Nurkic began the Indiana game averaging 10.3 points and 7.6 rebounds.
McCollum, meanwhile, was producing personal bests in scoring (26.7 points) and assists (5.0) before his injury. Without the pair in the lineup, Portland fell to the San Antonio Spurs 125-104 on Monday.
The 8-6 Trail Blazers host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday and Friday, and will then welcome the New York Knicks to town on Sunday.
