Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III, sidelined with a strained hamstring, said he is optimistic he could return by the start of the regular season on Oct. 23.
“They gave me a two-week timeline,” he said following Tuesday’s practice. “We’ll see.”
The Blazers announced Friday that he would miss two weeks with a grade 1 left hamstring strain. Two weeks out from Friday is Oct. 18, the day the Blazers close out the preseason at home against the Utah Jazz.
Williams, who began training camp healthy, is eager to return to the court after missing 76 games last season because of a knee injury. Now, his patience is being tested again.
Still, he remains positive.
“I feel good,” Williams said. “Working out a little bit more. Ramping up a little bit more.”
Williams said he’s been passing intermittent strength tests.
“Trying to meet the requirements,” he said.
His days consist of doing light drills, stretching, and participating in some team activities, including stretching. Then, while the team moves on to more strenuous drills, Williams does individual workouts.
“So far, I’m really excited about how it is going,” he said. “The best part is that it’s not getting worse.”
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups is also expecting Williams to be okay and somewhat blamed his hamstring injury on his body reacting to going full speed for the first time in nearly a year.
“He hadn’t played, and it’s just that ramp-up,” Billups said. “That’s kind of a normal thing. To go from working out all summer to now, you’re actually playing, getting up and down. It’s kind of normal.”
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