The coronavirus pandemic drastically altered the 2020 NBA calendar, and for some teams, provided the extra time they needed to allow injured players to rehab and return to the lineup. The Portland Trail Blazers, for example, will welcome back star big man Jusuf Nurkic – who was originally targeting a March return but has since gotten several months to continue rehabbing from a leg fracture suffered in 2019. Other players have used the time to revamp their bodies. Denver’s Nikola Jokic looks like a different person after losing a shocking amount of weight.
Some stars on the borderline of being able to return are taking a more cautious route back. Nets star Kevin Durant, who ruptured his Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA Finals, will not make his debut with the team until the 2020-21 season. Indiana Pacers All-Star Victor Oladipo has been working toward a return, but it was reported on Friday that Oladipo has decided to continue rehabbing and sit out the end of the regular season and playoffs.
Oladipo suffered a ruptured quad tendon on January 23rd, 2019, in a game against the Raptors. Earlier this year, Oladipo said he planned to make a return on January 29th, and he played limited minutes in 13 games before the season was halted. The pandemic threw a wrench into his rehab plans, though, and Oladipo told The Athletic that while he wants to play, he doesn’t want to take the increased risk of an injury.
Via The Athletic:
“I really want to play, and as a competitor and teammate this is tearing me apart. I feel like I’m at a great place in my rehab and getting closer and closer to 100 percent. With all the variables, from how I have to build my 5-on-5 workload back up, to the increased risk of a soft tissue injury which could delay my rehab, and the unknown exact set up of the bubble, I just can’t get my mind to being fully comfortable in playing. I have to be smart and this decision hasn’t been easy, but I truly believe continuing on the course I’m on and getting fully healthy for the 2020-21 season is the right decision for me.”
The Pacers are currently the 5th seed in the East at 39-26, two games behind the Heat and ahead of the No. 6 Sixers on a tiebreaker.
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