The headline today was Rudy Fernandez's potential return to the court earlier than expected: as in, tomorrow. Fernandez went through the entire practice today and spent some time working on his jumpers after practice.
The Blazers officially bumped his status from "out" to "questionable" for tomorrow night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Rose Garden.
Nate McMillan told a group of reporters...
He looked ok. I thought he ran well. He pretty much went through the whole practice. Hit the floor and got fouled on some drives to the basket. Knocked down some shots. I'm sure he was excited about today. He looked good. He was with the white group: Blake, Jerryd, Rudy, Jeff and DC. They went against the first unit.
Rudy Fernandez told a group of reporters...
It's the coach's decision. But today in the practice I feel good. My back absolutely feels good. No pain in my leg. For sure I need to practice more but... maybe I can play 5 to 7 minutes... I tried today during the practice, I feel good. I'll play 100% during the minutes [if I play].
This is my second practice today. Maybe tomorrow we can try...
If I feel good I'll play tomorrow, we'll talk with [Trainer Jay Jensen] and with the coach...
I want to play for me and my teammates. I think I'm ready to play tomorrow...
The conditioning is hard. I need to prepare but I feel good today in the practice.
It's a group decision for sure. If I'm not ready to play tomorrow I'll tell the coach. I think if I'm on the court I need to play 100%.
More coming later this afternoon.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter