The Portland Trail Blazers received some good news recently, as forward Al-Farouq Aminu has been cleared from his minutes restriction. However, he won’t be reinserted to the starting lineup just yet by head coach Terry Stotts, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.
Terry Stotts says Al-Farouq Aminu has been cleared to play more minutes ("30-something) when the Blazers host the Wizards.
Will he rejoin starting lineup? As I’ve said before, there’s a chance that he’ll start eventually," Stotts said. "But no decision has been made now."— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) December 4, 2017
The 27-year-old Wake Forest product missed 13 games last month due to a right ankle sprain. He only returned to action on November 30 versus the Milwaukee Bucks, and has only seen an average of 24 minutes of playing time since coming back.
Aminu used to be the starting power forward for the Blazers prior to his injury, and was playing well with averages of 8.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 blocks. Now that he is closing in on being 100 percent again, it can be expected that he will be slowly eased back into his usual role, and should receive between 30-35 minutes of playing time.
The development on Aminu will result to Noah Vonleh returning to the bench, and should be the primary backup at the four spot, along with Caleb Swanigan, depending on matchups. His clearance is also a huge boost to the Blazers, who are currently struggling, and lost their last two games.
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