Rockets guard Fred VanVleet is still holding out hope he can return this season after tearing his right ACL in September RealGM relays. VanVleet made those comments on a recent episode of Unguarded.
“I’m about five, five and a half months, almost six months now,” VanVleet said. “So, I’m getting there. I’m getting stronger. I’m getting better. I’m moving around a lot better. I’m getting some good on-court workouts. I think a lot of the predictions of where I was going to be were made pre-surgery, so we’ve had to adjust that timeline as things go on. But again, selfishly, I’m always going to keep my window open. I’m not going to come on here and tell you, ‘Oh, I’m not coming back,’ and then I come back like, ‘Oh, surprise.’ But I’m not ruling it out, and I’m not saying I’m coming back. I’m just rehabbing, I’m working on myself, and I keep that goal in mind because I’ve made such good progress.”
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Dejounte Murray continued his strong comeback from his Achilles tear. The Pelicans guard racked up 35 points, seven rebounds and four assists against Houston on Friday in his eighth game of the season. “On both sides of the ball, he was fantastic down the stretch,” Pelicans’ interim head coach James Borrego said, per Rod Walker of NOLA.com.
- Cooper Flagg had 25 points for the Mavericks against Cleveland on Friday and feels he’s finally recovered from the midfoot sprain that sidelined him for eight games. “I really feel I hadn’t come back with my pop, like my athleticism has kind of been lacking since I got hurt and came back,” Flagg told Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “I finally felt like I was getting my pop back a little tonight.”
- Ty Jerome, who joined the Grizzlies during the offseason on a three-year, $27.66MM contract, had 21 points against Detroit on Friday. He’s averaging 20.1 points and 5.4 assists in 12 games. He’s missed most of the season due to a calf strain. “I mean Ty’s been very solid for us the whole time,” coach Tuomas Iilaso said. “He’s turning into one of the premier creators in the whole league. [He’s] able to create shots for himself and for others, and he gets the toughest assignments every night. Today, [the] Pistons we’re able to put a lot of length, a lot of physicality on him, and they also stepped up on the pick-and-rolls, to try to get the ball out of his hands. But, somehow, he always finds a way.”