The Portland Trail Blazers are optimistic about the potential return of forwards Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum some time in January, according to a report by Jason Quick of The Oregonian. These two injuries have not garnered as much publicity as the tragic losses of Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla but Batum and Fernandez are no doubt interval parts of the Portland franchise.
Athletic trainer Jay Jensen said Batum is scheduled to travel with the team and possibly could play on its next extended trip, which begins with the Jan. 18 game in Washington and continues with games at Philadelphia, Boston and Detroit.
Whether or not Batum plays on the trip will hinge on two factors: clearance from the doctor who performed the surgery and no setbacks during workouts in the coming weeks. Batum will fly with the team to Los Angeles for its Jan. 4 game against the Clippers, during which he will be examined by the doctor who performed his surgery.
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Jensen also said guard Rudy Fernandez, who underwent back surgery on Dec. 8, is on pace to return to the team for its Jan. 18 trip. Fernandez has targeted that trip for his return, and last week Jensen said that would be “optimistic”, but on Monday Jensen said he got his dates mixed up and mis-spoke. The Jan. 18 trip, barring any setbacks, is indeed the target date.
Fernandez is a gunslinger who gives Portland a very good spot up shooter from beyond the arc off of the bench. Rudy has also added a pretty good set of moves that gets him to the rim and he is an excellent dunker once he gets there. He could be a candidate for sixth man of the year if he returns from this injury and performs like he did as a rookie last season (10 points a game, 40% from three). As a sophomore, Fernandez seems to have the ceiling of fellow foreigner Manu Ginobli, an electric scorer who comes off the bench.
Batum is more of a role player than Fernandez recognized more his defense than any other aspect of his game. At 6-foot-8, Batum usually draws all the tough defensive assignments like Kobe, Carmelo or Kevin Durant. Batum was a starter fr 76 games last season before getting hurt but it is not likely he will start this season because of the emergence of Martell Webster, who has assumed the exact same role as the primary wing defender and seems to be a better shooter than Batum. Still, Nic is an athletic freak and he should still have a place on the team when he returns.
