Kyle Lowry made his return to the lineup on Sunday night in the Raptors' dramatic buzzer-beater loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Lowry sat out four of the previous five games nursing an ankle injury, playing 28 minutes posting seven points and six assists in his first game back.
Postgame he told reporters he felt "o.k." but also acknowledged that the injury won't truly ever be 100%.
“It’s going to be a process, but I’ll get there — hopefully," Lowry told reporters after the loss on Sunday.
"I’m not going to be 100% the whole season — I can tell you that right now.
“But I’ll get to a point where I’m back to being able to move, cut and run the way I usually run around doing.
"It takes time, it’s a work in progress. It’s a good first step."
Sunday was the first time Toronto had their full complement of players since Marc Gasol and Jeremy Lin joined the team after the trade deadline.
With eight games left in the season, and the Raptors focus more on being healthy heading into the postseason rather than chasing the first seed in the Eastern Conference, it's worth wondering whether or not Lowry should sit out until mid-April.
Lowry, however, wants to get back out on the court with his teammates and get a rhythm heading into what the team is hoping will be a lengthy playoff run.
“I just wanted to get out there," Lowry continued. "I mean I could sit out until the playoffs with the type of injury that I have but I wanted to keep a rhythm and get out there with the guys and play some basketball.
"It could take a while for this one to heal but you don’t want that, it’s going to take too long.
“So if I can get out there and run, go play, you know? And see how you feel.”
The remaining schedule is pretty favourable for Toronto with Lin and Fred VanVleet also back in the lineup. The workload on Lowry can be managed enough to keep him near healthy.
