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Update (3:00 pm): The Blazers have officially upgraded Robin Lopez' status to "probable" against the Utah Jazz. There is no change in the status for C Joel Freeland:
Portland C Robin Lopez (right hand fracture) is PROBABLE and F/C Joel Freeland (right shoulder strain) is OUT for Tuesday's game vs Utah.
— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) February 2, 2015
Big news came out of the Blazers' Monday practice, as starting center Robin Lopez was in full gear and participating for the first time since suffering a broken hand. Damian Lillard was clearly excited:
"Everybody was watching him like it was our first time seeing him play." -- Dame on RoLo back on the practice court.
— Erik Gundersen (@blazerbanter) February 2, 2015
But Blazers head coach Terry Stotts dropped a bigger bombshell after practice:
Stotts says if everything goes well, @rolopez42 will be active vs. Utah
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) February 2, 2015
Lopez was injured on December 15 going up for a rebound against the San Antonio Spurs. The Blazers streaked to more victories after his departure, but after more injuries (including Lopez replacement Joel Freeland) and against a tougher schedule, they have lost their last 8 of 10.
Lopez originally announced a 6-7 week recovery time. Tuesday's Utah Jazz game will be the exact seven week mark from that prognosis.