The Trail Blazers announced during the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game against the Pacers that Jusuf Nurkic will not return to the court, having suffered a right wrist fracture.
Nurkic appeared to come up holding his wrist after a defensive possession in which he swiped at the ball with his right hand, blocked a Myles Turner shot attempt, and then fell to the floor.
The Blazers haven’t offered much info yet on the severity of Nurkic’s injury or how it’ll be treated, but they did say he is out indefinitely.
It’s an unfortunate turn of events for Portland’s 26-year-old starting center, who missed nearly the entire 2019-20 season due to a major leg injury. This season, Nurkic had been averaging 10.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 11 games (23.6 minutes) entering Thursday’s action.
With Nurkic and fellow big man Zach Collins (ankle) on the shelf, the team figures to lean more heavily on big men Enes Kanter and Harry Giles. The Blazers have an open spot on their 15-man roster as well as an open two-way contract slot, so they could consider signing another center for depth purposes.
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