TUALATIN -- There was some welcomed good news Tuesday for a team navigating a three-game losing streak.
Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic has been diagnosed with a right shoulder contusion and is expected to play Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.
Nurkic injured his shoulder in the first quarter of the Blazers' loss to the L.A. Clippers Sunday night when he elevated near the rim to block a Tobias Harris drive and took an elbow to the shoulder. Nurkic returned briefly in the second quarter, playing about six minutes, but the pain rendered him ineffective. He was evaluated at halftime and trainers elected to hold him out of the second half.
After participating in non-contact portions of the Blazers' practice on Tuesday, Nurkic said he "probably" would play against the Magic. He is not listed on the Blazers' injury report for the game.
"It was kind of nasty," Nurkic said. "But I'll be fine."
Nurkic said he underwent an X-ray, which confirmed he merely had a bruise. After a rough first night, he said, the pain in his shoulder has steadily decreased.
The Blazers (12-8) could certainly use Nurkic, who is averaging 15.1 points and 10.4 rebounds this season, against the Magic. Not only have they lost a season-high three games in a row and five of their last seven overall, but the Blazers will face an Orlando team that runs through starting center Nikola Vucevic, who has been playing particularly well the last two weeks.
Over the last seven games, Vucevic has scored 30 or more points four times, recorded five double-doubles and is averaging 26.4 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 18.
"Vucevic is having a hell of year," Blazers backup center Zach Collins said. "It all starts with us containing Vucevic and making sure he doesn't go off too much."
COLLINS LOOKS TO LIMIT FOULS
While Nurkic's playing time will depend on the health of his shoulder, Collins' could hinge on fouls.
After avoiding significant foul trouble most of the season, Collins has been limited by the whistle of late. In the last five games, Collins has fouled out twice and been saddled with foul trouble one another time. The rough patch started Nov. 18, when Collins fouled out of a win at the Washington Wizards, and he has not played more than 19 minutes in a game since.
Collins spent some time on Wednesday watching film with Don Vaden, a longtime former NBA official who serves as a consultant for the Blazers, and the session yielded a few realities.
For the most part, foul calls on Collins have been legitimate. Far too often, they occur on "ticky-tack" plays away from the rim. Also, Collins has been too careless after collecting his fourth and fifth fouls.
"I just don't think I've been as tight and ... I haven't been paying attention to the little things as well as I did early in the year," Collins said. "I just got to get back locked into that."
Collins said he needs to use better footwork, monitor his hand placement and pay closer attention to his part in the game action. He said he can live with drawing whistles while contesting one-on-one shots at the rim, but too many of his fouls are coming on the perimeter or on put-backs after he allows an offensive player to snare a rebound.
"The fouls that are away from the rim are the things that I need to clean up," he said. "If I get six fouls at the rim, I'm not too worried about that. It's just staying locked in and making sure that you don't get a lot of ticky-tack fouls that will make you pay in the end. That's what kind of happened to me last game. So just being smarter."
HARKLESS PRACTICES, STOTTS DOESN'T CONFIRM STARTING STATUS
After playing in the last three games, Moe Harkless practiced on Tuesday, taking another positive step forward as he continues to ramp up activity following a 12-game absence with left knee soreness.
Harkless rejoined the starting lineup in the Blazers' loss to the Clippers, but played just 17 minutes as he remains handcuffed by a 20-minute restriction. Harkless said he hopes to have the limitations gradually lifted as soon as possible.
"We've talked about, maybe, after a couple more games, pushing my minutes-restriction," Harkless said Sunday night. "It's pretty hard to play that way."
When asked if Harkless would continue to start, coach Terry Stotts declined to answer, saying simply, "We'll see."
At the very least, Harkless said this is the best he's felt in months.
"It's just going to get better from here," Harkless said. "I feel better than when I tried to play a month ago. We're trying to push it to see how much I can handle without the pain."
Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman