Portland Trail Blazers’ Jerami Grant Discusses Return From Injury

After missing nine games with a face contusion, Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant returned to the lineup Saturday for Portland’s 125-103 home loss to the Houston Rockets. He slid back into his starting role and registered seven points on 2-6 shooting, four rebounds, two blocks and three turnovers in 25 minutes.

“I feel good,” Grant told reporters in the locker room after the game. “I would’ve felt a little bit better if we got the win, but I feel good personally.”

The night marked Grant’s first game since Dec. 28 when he sustained that face contusion in the closing minutes of Portland’s 126-122 win against the Dallas Mavericks. While playing defense, Grant caught an elbow to the face from Dallas star guard Kyrie Irving that sent him to the floor.

On Saturday, Grant discussed with reporters what led to the three-week absence. He clarified that he didn’t have a concussion, but was experiencing a lot of pain as he recovered from the hit.

“Things were a little messed up,” Grant said. “I was trying to ramp it up and get back. Little setbacks and things like that. And, eventually, I got good.”

Despite the modest box score, Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was happy with Grant’s minutes against Houston, particularly in non-scoring facets of the game like rebounding and defense. He thought Grant did a solid job guarding Houston’s high-scoring guard Jalen Green. The fourth-year guard still unleashed 26 points on 58.8% shooting, but Billups said “he did’t really get loose until Jerami wasn’t on him.”

The Blazers have lost five consecutive games, including four straight by at least 18 points. They have a quick opportunity to try to right the ship, playing the Chicago Bulls Sunday evening in the final matchup of a five-game homestand. In order to avoid going winless on the home swing, Grant said he and his teammates will have to improve in a lot of areas.

“We’re in a bit of a slump right now, for sure, on both ends of the court — offense, defense,” he said. “We’re just trying to figure out something and put it together.”