Maurice Harkless survived a scare early in the Portland Trail Blazers training camp, recovering from acute pain in his left foot, which he suffered on Tuesday, according to Jason Quick of CSN North West.
The young small forward missed Wednesday's practice with the injury, which had kept him worried for most of the day after the team doctors diagnosed him with a strained left foot.
“I don’t even know how it happened or when it happened,’’ Harkless said. “My foot just started hurting, and I thought my tape was too tight, but I cut the tape off and it just got worse. So I sat down… but it was just a mild strain. Nothing serious. I felt great today.’’
Harkless led the way with his intangibles, starting 69 games for the Blazers last season and leading the team in steals, blocks and field goal percentage. The 24-year-old Queens native notoriously refrained from shooting threes at the end of the season to trigger a $500,000 bonus for shooting over 35 percent from deep, as he had proved a mere 32 percent three-point shooter for his career.
Head coach Terry Stotts admitted the young wing dodged an early bullet with this concern.
“In training camp (injuries) are always a concern,’’ Stotts said. “Even though I thought everybody came back in good shape, it’s different with camp – you are using muscles, you are fatigued and that’s when injuries happen. So the fact that it wasn’t that serious is good.’’
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