The Golden State Warriors haven't had big man Festus Ezeli fully healthy in a very long time, but his recovery took another big step forward Friday with an appearance for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA D-League.
Ezeli missed the entire 2013-14 season with a knee injury, and was clearly out of form in his cameo appearances for Golden State in November and December. The Nigerian big man averaged 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 11.7 minutes of action per game, and while he didn't look sharp in relief of Andrew Bogut, he still shot an encouraging .563 from the field.
Just as Ezeli saw his minutes start to increase, a nagging ankle injury pushed him out of action all over again. Ezeli hasn't played since December 23, but his minutes in Santa Cruz on Friday were an important step in his overall recovery.
Like Mark Jackson before him, Steve Kerr hasn't been afraid to make use of the Warriors' D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, and fans shouldn't be surprised to see Ezeli spend more time there as he works his way back to full strength. While Ezeli's involvement will depend a lot on Andrew Bogut's health, it sounds like he isn't expected to return to NBA action for at least another week - Steve Kerr is yet to comment on when we might see Ezeli back on the floor.
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