Joel Freeland will play against Sacramento
After missing getting hurt on November 2nd against the San Antonio Spurs, Joel Freeland will return to the court for the Blazers tonight after undergoing a workout and evaluation from Director of Player Health and Performance, Chris Stackpole.
Freeland confirmed to The Columbian that he would be able to play.
Terry Stotts said that he will play Freeland but that he will limit his minutes.
“I might want to watch his minutes a little bit,” Stotts said. “I don’t want to extend his minutes too much but he had a good practice yesterday and he’ll definitely play tonight.”
Stotts did not give any answers as to how he would deal with limiting Freeland’s minutes from a rotation standpoint, so that will be something to watch tonight. Stotts rarely tips his hat when it comes to rotation pre-game.
Having Freeeland’s defensive presence should help sure things up defensively with the second unit. In the 43 minutes Freeland has been on the court this year, the Blazers are giving up 10 fewer points per 100 possessions compared to when he is on the Blazers bench.
While it’s early and the sample size is small, it seems that Freeland has had an impact defensively so far this season.
