It has been two months since Caris LeVert played on an NBA game and on Saturday he will make his debut with the Indiana Pacers against the Phoenix Suns, according to Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN.
After undergoing surgery to remove a small mass on his left kidney in late January, guard Caris LeVert will make his Indiana Pacers debut vs. Phoenix on Saturday, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2021
The Pacers acquired LeVert in the James Harden trade. Days later, the team informed that the guard would be out indefinitely due to the discovery of a small mass, which was a renal cell carcinoma, on his kidney and needed surgery to be removed.
As of now, the Pacers are the tenth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 16-19 record and will begin their second half of the season in a three-game road trip starting on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
LeVert brings to the Pacers a second ball-handler to initiate the offense and create opportunities for his teammates, a part of his game that he has developed during the past seasons. In the 12 games he played with Brooklyn, LeVert averaged 6.0 assists per game, including two games with more than 10 assists.
“He looked great. He looked confident,” Sabonis said to the media after practice. “Really good in the pick-and-roll, being aggressive going downhill, giving us more options. He’s going to attract a lot of defense to him, creating open shots for everybody. That’s what we’ve been missing.”
