New Orleans guard Jrue Holiday will play for the first time this NBA season on Friday (Saturday AEDT) against the Portland Trail Blazers after taking leave to look after his wife who had brain surgery.
Holiday has been away from the Pelicans since the summer to care for his wife, retired international soccer star Lauren Holiday, who had surgery on a brain tumour last month, weeks after giving birth to the couple's daughter.
The Pelicans play in Orlando on Wednesday night, and general manager Dell Demps said Holiday is slated to practice with the team on Thursday before making his debut the following night in what will be New Orleans' 13th game of the season.
Demps said he expects Holiday's return to be gratifying for Pelicans players and staff on both personal and professional levels.
"He's just a great person - just bringing him back and getting him back with the group, from a social standpoint," is most important, Demps said.
"From a basketball standpoint, we don't want to put pressure on him and make him feel like he's the savior."
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said he wasn't certain whether Holiday, who has been working out on his own in North Carolina the past couple months, would start or how much he'd play.
"I just know we won't play him 35 minutes the first game back," Gentry said.
"We're not going to do anything like that. I think we've got to be smart about it. He's been working out twice a day. He's in great shape. There's a big difference in being in great shape and being in basketball shape."
New Orleans has won just two of their first 11 games, but also two of its last three after and 0-8 start.
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