Portland Trail Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter recently dropped an encouraging update on Scoot Henderson, who has yet to play a game for the team this season due to a serious hamstring injury.
Per Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report, Henderson was seen running full-court sprints during practice. However, the Portland Trail Blazers continue to exercise caution on the 21-year-old guard, which has been a little frustrating for the team.
“He is progressing,” Splitter said. “He’s getting better. I understand. Everybody’s a little bit frustrated about this, but it’s a tough injury. It’s (one) where people tend to have a second injury, so we’ve got to be careful with him. He’s a big part of our franchise. We’ve got to protect him. And I think we’re doing the right thing and he’s feeling better day by day.”
Besides Henderson, the Portland Trail Blazers have dealt with injuries to Damian Lillard (Achilles), Kris Murray (back), Matisse Thybulle (knee), and Blake Wesley (foot), among others. However, at 22-22, the team is in the play-in tournament mix as the ninth seed in the Western Conference.
Portland Trail Blazers News: Deni Avdija opens up on not being an All-Star starter this season
Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija did not get enough votes to be named a starter for this year’s NBA All-Star Game, so he’ll need the votes of coaches to be in the showpiece event. However, Avdija still thanked his supporters after learning that he had the fifth-most fan votes.
“Those are really great players with big names in the league,” Avdija told The Oregonian. “They’ve done a lot of good things. I’m just focusing on winning and being a good teammate. Whatever is going to come with it, is going to come with it. Obviously, I wanted to be a starter, but it’s all good.
“Shout out to the fans for showing me a lot of love. I wasn’t expecting that amount of votes, but it really warms up my heart to see how much fans and how much support I get around the world. I’m just going to continue representing,” he added.
