Rockets swingman Gerald Green is hopeful that can return for the postseason, he told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Green underwent surgery in late October to repair a broken bone in his left foot and was expected to miss six months.
“I’m not trying to speed myself up, but hoping I’ll be ready to go by the end of this year, maybe towards playoffs,” Green said. “Don’t want to put myself ahead of schedule. Don’t want to get anybody’s hopes up or anything like that. It’s something I have a personal goal. If I reach it, great. If I don’t, it’s not the end of the world. Just keep getting healthy.”
Even if Green reaches his goal, it’s questionable whether he’d get much playing time after missing the entire regular season.
He is still wearing a walking boot and has not been cleared to run, according to Feigen. Green has been walking on an underwater treadmill and is getting therapy regularly.
Green, a 12-year NBA veteran, has made prior stops with Boston, Minnesota, Houston, Dallas, New Jersey, Indiana, Phoenix and Miami during his professional career. He was a major contributor off the Rockets’ bench last season, averaging 9.2 PPG and 2.5 PPG in 73 contests.
Whether or not he returns this season, Green wants to keep playing.
“I was able to take some time off (after the surgery) with my family, my friends, get a better look at what I can do to be a better player on the court,” Green said. “It’s been a good little process for me. I’m just enjoying the process.”
Even if Green is healthy enough to play by April/May/June, he would have an extremely difficult time getting minutes for the Rockets during the playoffs. Sefolosha and Tyson Chandler were both in the rotation during the first 1/3 of the season, but even those two veterans won’t get more than a handful of minutes (if any) during the postseason.
Gerald has been my favorite player in the league for so long. I miss him so much :(
i also haven’t seen him anywhere since preseason