Donovan Clingan Nearing Return, Robert Williams III Takes Next Step
Plus, Scoot Henderson details his Uber accident in Houston.
📍 TUALATIN, Ore. — It must be nice to be 20.
Donovan Clingan suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee during the Trail Blazers’ Nov. 23 win over the Houston Rockets. The team said at the time that Clingan would be re-evaluated in two weeks; injury expert Jeff Stotts said that Grade 2 MCL sprains, on average, keep a player out 41 days.
Clingan appears on the verge of being back in half that time. The Blazers announced on Tuesday morning that he’d been cleared for on-court activity, and after practice, Chauncey Billups was optimistic he’ll be able to play on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs.
“He did almost everything today,” Billups said. “We had a great practice. He did pretty much everything and he looked good. … Unless something happens this week, I feel good about [Clingan’s availability Friday]. If he can practice on a Tuesday, I would hope so.”
In the game where he got hurt, Clingan had a career-high 19 rebounds while not scoring. It was just the 15th game of at least 19 rebounds and zero points in NBA history (seven of them are by Dennis Rodman), and one of Portland’s best wins of the season. Clingan has been one of the few bright spots of this season for the Blazers, which made the injury a tough blow.
It wasn’t much fun for him to have to sit out, either.
“I missed it a lot,” Clingan said after practice Tuesday. “I’m the most antsy dude you’ll meet, so sitting on the sidelines is not fun. I’m excited to get back out.”
One game after Clingan got hurt, the Blazers also lost Robert Williams III to a concussion during a Nov. 25 loss in Memphis. Over the last two weeks, he’s been in the NBA’s concussion protocol and hasn’t traveled with the team on two one-off road trips to Los Angeles, to face the Clippers on Dec. 3 and the Lakers on Sunday.
But Williams was back at practice Tuesday, one step closer to being fully cleared from the protocol. The Blazers’ medical staff will need to see how he feels Wednesday and Thursday after doing on-court work before fully clearing him, but allowing him to return to practice is a real step forward.
Billups wasn’t as sure about Williams’ availability for Friday’s game as he was about Clingan’s, but he didn’t rule it out.
“Rob did some stuff out there today,” Billups said. “It was good to have him out there. But I’m not sure. He’s still in the protocol. He hasn’t passed every level yet. But having him out here is positive.”
Scoot Henderson has also had a strange couple of weeks. He left the Blazers’ Nov. 20 loss to Oklahoma City, the first game of a five-game road trip, with a left quad contusion. The following evening in Houston, he was on his way to meet up with some teammates at a local mall when the ride-share he was in got rear-ended.
“I was in an Uber and the person behind us hit us, and my back and hip flared up a little bit,” Henderson said Tuesday. “It wasn’t nothing crazy. It wasn’t a crazy car accident. But it was kind of weird because I haven’t been in that situation, especially in an Uber.”
Henderson says the driver didn’t realize he was carrying an NBA player in the car.
“He was more worried about the accident,” he said. “I was in my regular clothing. I was in my regular drip. Sweatpants, hoodie. He didn’t realize [who I was].”
Henderson also didn’t have his real name on his Uber account—a veteran tip he’s already picked up in his young NBA career.
“Heck naw,” he said.
After the accident, Henderson was listed as out for the Blazers’ next three games with a back strain. He returned for the final game of the road trip, a loss in Indiana, and had arguably his best game of the season with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, nine assists and only one turnover. But when the Blazers returned home from the road trip, the quad injury he suffered in Oklahoma City flared up again, and he missed the Blazers’ next three games. He returned in Los Angeles for Sunday’s loss to the Lakers.
“It was a weird couple of days,” he said. “It’s not like I can get mad. It was just a series of events. Life be lifing. Just got to get through it.”