Getty Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter
Following the wildest finish in recent NBA playoff memory, the Portland Trail Blazers are now onto the second round and a date with the Denver Nuggets. Damian Lillard’s 37-foot game-winning 3-pointer over Paul George clinched the team’s spot in the second round, and they’re in Denver to start the Western Conference semifinals.
The Blazers look incredibly good so far, even without starting center Jusuf Nurkic who’s out for the year, as Enes Kanter has stepped in and done a great job in his place. Unfortunately, Kanter’s status for Game 1 remains up in the air, and it could create an interesting starting lineup for Terry Stotts’ group.
We’re going to take a look at the latest on Kanter’s injury status, whether he’ll suit up for this game and how the Blazers starting lineup will look with and without him.
Enes Kanter Injury Status Updates
The latest on Kanter doesn’t provide a great outlook for Game 1, and it appears the shoulder has caused him consistent pain. As Casey Holdahl of the Trail Blazers reported, the center said he’s dealing with “quite a bit of pain” even just attempting to sleep.
Enes Kanter (left shoulder) says he doesn’t know if he’ll play tonight. Says there’s quite a bit of pain doing things like sleeping, taking his shirt on and off.
Beyond that, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk revealed that Kanter plans to test his shoulder during shootaround and then meet with the team’s trainer. He’s apparently been testing the injury for the past two days with on-court work.
Enes Kanter said he will test his injured shoulder in shootaround and then talk to the trainer to see about if he will play tonight in Game 1 against Denver. Kanter said it is feeling better but he still has trouble sleeping and even putting a shirt on. He’s tested the shoulder two days in a row now on the court.
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We’ll update as more information comes out, but Kanter is currently listed as questionable on the NBA’s official injury report.
UPDATE: Kanter is expected to play.
Trail Blazers Roster & Starting Lineup vs. Nuggets
*Notates expected starter
C: Enes Kanter (Q)*, Zach Collins, Meyers Leonard, Skal Labissiere
PF: Al-Farouq Aminu*, Jake Layman
SF: Maurice Harkless*, Evan Turner, Rodney Hood
SG: CJ McCollum*, Seth Curry, Anfernee Simons, Gary Trent Jr.
PG: Damian Lillard*
The big question becomes what the Blazers will opt to do if Kanter is unable to play. With Nikola Jokic starting at center on the other side, they may have to use the size of a player like Meyers Leonard or Zach Collins in the starting five. If not, going small with Jake Layman is also a possible option.
Realistically, Collins or Leonard are the most likely candidates to start, and the former played at least 14 minutes in four of the Portland’s five games in round one. Leonard didn’t see quite as much floor time, averaging 9.4 minutes per game and just 13 total over the final two matchups in the series.
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