Portland Trail Blazers forward Vit Krejci is on the long road to recovery after fracturing his lower leg in the team's 132-119 win against the Phoenix Suns.
Krejci fractured the ankle during the end of the third quarter upon taking a hit from Suns forward Miles Bridges. Here's a look at Krejci's final play before hurting his lower leg.
Blazers head coach Micah Nori confirmed to the team during his postgame press conference that Krejci had suffered a fracture, which likely means he will be out for a while.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Vit Krejci dribbles the ball towards the basket during the first quarter. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Krejci has had a lot of ups and downs since arriving in Portland back in February of this year, in a trade-deadline deal with the Atlanta Hawks. It looked like he was beginning to turn a corner by playing solidly on both ends of the floor. In his 12 minutes against the Suns , Krejci scored five points but was a +11. He went on the court and established himself as a strong piece of the puzzle for the second unit.
The hope is that his injury isn't season-ending and that he will be able to return at some point during the year. That said, there is still a lot up in the air regarding his injury, and the team should give more information in the coming days.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Chris Youngblood during media day at the Moda Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
"Chris Youngblood will step into those minutes, and then we'll probably either bring up [John] Tonje or [Jayson] Kent. I'll talk to Joe [Cronin] and see what he wants to do there, and then we'll go from there," Nori said postgame.
The Blazers will utilize their three two-way players during this time, as injuries are beginning to pile up. Ja Morant is expected to be out for the next three weeks or so as he deals with a hamstring strain, and Krejci is not expected to be returning to the court anytime soon either.
Youngblood played in just four minutes during the team's win against the Suns, but he should absorb some of Krejci's minutes moving forward.
The Blazers utilized their two-way players a lot last season with Sidy Cissoko and Caleb Love, so it's something that they are familiar with in the front office and they're not afraid to tap into.
The Blazers are back in action on Friday when they take on the Los Angeles Lakers for their first NBA Cup game of the season. The game is scheduled for 7 pm PT at Crypto.com Arena. Fans can watch the game on Rip City Sports Network or stream it on NBA League Pass.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/trailblazers/onsi as What Vit Krejci Injury Means for the Blazers Rotation: Winners and Losers .
