Trail Blazers wings Matisse Thybulle and Kris Murray were both full participants in practices on Wednesday and Thursday, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.
“They’ve had two intense days here,” interim head coach Tiago Splitter said Thursday at the Blazers’ practice facility in Tualatin. “We’ll see how (they feel) tomorrow.”
Both players are officially questionable for Friday’s contest against Denver (Twitter link).
A two-time All-Defensive selection, Thybulle has been plagued by injuries the past two seasons. He was limited to just 15 appearances in 2024/25 due to knee and ankle issues, and has only played four games thus far in ’25/26, last suiting up on October 29.
The 28-year-old guard/forward underwent thumb surgery on Oct. 31, which was expected to sideline him for at least four-to-six weeks. After that injury healed, he has been plagued by right knee tendinopathy.
Largely due to his limited availability, there has been speculation that Thybulle could be a buyout candidate, but that seems fairly unlikely now that he’s healthy.
Third-year forward Murray, meanwhile, has missed Portland’s last 19 games due to a lumbar strain in his lower back. He last played on Jan. 5.
As Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report tweets, the Blazers have relied heavily on Sidy Cissoko, who is no longer eligible to play after reaching his 50-game active limit, and Caleb Love, who has five games left. While it’s possible one or both of those two-way standouts could be promoted before the season ends, the team likely doesn’t feel any urgency to do so now with Thybulle and Murray on the verge of returning, Highkin notes.
Although Portland’s roster is as healthy as it has been in months, starting shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe remains out with a left calf strain and his return doesn’t appear imminent, per Freeman. The team’s second-leading scorer suffered the injury on Feb. 6 and missed the final four games before the All-Star break.
“He didn’t practice,” Splitter said. “We’re still evaluating how long he’s going to be out, but for the near future, he’s going to be out for a little bit.”