PORTLAND, Ore. —
With Game 1 of their second-round series three days away, few unsettled factors loom larger for the Trail Blazers than the health of Enes Kanter.
It was clear to anyone watching Game 5 of Portland's first-round series against the Thunder that something was wrong with Kanter. At various points during the game, he was seen holding his left arm close to his side and grimacing in pain.
After the game, Kanter walked to the podium for a postgame interview with his left arm in a sling and a large ice pack wrapped around his left shoulder. He said he hurt his shoulder in the first quarter while he was "bumping with Steven [Adams]."
"I think they said separation or something," Kanter told the media. "At halftime we did an injection. I just tried to play through it, and we'll see what happens in the future."
When asked if he would play in the second round, he said he'd wait to see how the shoulder felt in the following days, but then finished his answer with a clear-cut pronouncement.
"Definitely, I'll play through it," Kanter said.
On Friday at the practice facility in Tualatin, Kanter didn't have a sling, but had padding over his left shoulder that he took off during practice. He was holding his left arm by his side while practicing, but it didn't seem to impact his ability to shoot with his right hand.
Kanter told the media on Friday that he's in a lot of pain.
"I'm not going to lie, it hurts pretty bad. I'm having a hard time changing my shirt," he said. "It's very tough to even just raise it above my head."
Kanter said he's unsure if he'll be able to play in Game 1 on Monday. He said the normal recovery time for a separated shoulder is about a month.
"But we don't got a month," he said. "So just push through it. We'll take it day-by-day and see how it goes."
Kanter said that his pain threshold isn't the only consideration. There's also concern that he could suffer further injury, though he said his free agent status this offseason won't play into his decision.
"We're in a position now where you don't think about your contract," he said. "You don't think about how much money you're going to get. You don't think about where you're going to sign or re-sign. The only thing you need to do is just go out there and do whatever it takes to get a win."
Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said he's not sure yet if Kanter will be able to play in Game 1, but the time between the end of the Thunder series and the start of the second round will help.
"Obviously, with Enes' shoulder, that's helpful," Stotts said. "I hope so. Right now it's too early. Good thing we don't play until Monday. We don't really have to make any decision until then. So we're hopeful."
Kanter has provided extensive value to the Blazers since he signed with them on Valentine's Day. Kanter was signed to provide scoring and rebounding as the backup center to starter Jusuf Nurkic. But after Nurkic broke his leg in late March, Kanter took on a more critical role for the Blazers.
The prevailing narrative after Nurkic got hurt was that Portland's aspiration of postseason success was shattered at the same time. There didn't appear to be a player on Portland's roster who could approximate Nurkic's production and leadership on both offense and defense.
That prevailing narrative was wrong. Everyone underestimated Kanter.
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In 13 games since Nurkic's injury -- eight in the regular season and five in the postseason -- Kanter has averaged 16.2 points, 10.9 rebounds and made 60.3% of his shots. There was speculation that he'd be played off the floor once the playoffs began because of his inability to defend, particularly in the pick-and-roll. But that narrative was proven false, too, during the Blazers' first-round series.
Kanter played 29.3 minutes per game against the Thunder, the third-most minutes for a Blazers team that ranks sixth in defensive rating so far in the playoffs and held the Thunder to less than 100 points in three of the five games.
His defensive rating is 104.8 in the playoffs. In the regular season, Nurkic's defensive rating was 105.6. Nobody's mistaking Kanter for a player of Nurkic's defensive ability, but the fact that Kanter hasn't been a defensive liability and is holding his own on defense is a big win for the Blazers.
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Damian Lillard was asked about Kanter after Game 5, and given the opportunity to praise his teammate who exceeded expectations all series and played through pain and injury in the deciding game, Lillard didn't mince words.
"It was huge," Lillard said, and then went on to list all the ways that Kanter was contributing to the Blazers. It wasn't a short list.
Making great defensive plays.
Using verticality in the post.
Impacting the ball.
Changing shots.
Coming up with extra possessions.
Tipping balls.
Finishing in the paint.
Showing toughness.
After Game 5, Stotts had nothing but praise for Kanter.
"I tell you what, he gave it all," Stotts said. "His shoulder is bothering him, he played through pain. Even with the pain, he was posting up. We played through him a little bit in the fourth quarter. He got some big rebounds but the toughness he showed -- I think it's a little indicative of our team, the fact that everybody does whatever they can to get a win."
Jared Cowley writes about the Trail Blazers and other topics for KGW.com. He's also the co-host of the 3-on-3 Blazers podcast (listen here). You can reach him on Twitter @jaredcowley.