Reggie Evans sets a target for return to Raptors lineup

CLEVELAND–It has been the most repeated question of the Raptors season: When is Reggie Evans going to play?

Try Feb. 17, Toronto's first game after the NBA's all-star break, at home against the Memphis Grizzlies.

At least that's the answer Evans, the defensive specialist who hasn't played a game on account of a pre-season foot sprain, was giving on Tuesday.

And even if the date is a goal more than a set-in-stone promise, it's better than the previous stock answer to the question of when he'd return – specifically, that nobody in the organization had any real idea.

"That's my goal, the game after all-star," Evans said. "My spirit's real high. My energy is getting there. ... But don't congratulate me just yet."

Evans, whose rugged absence has been frequently lamented by Bryan Colangelo, the Toronto general manager who acquired him for Jason Kapono in an off-season trade, has yet to return to full-contact practising.

But Evans said he has been encouraged by the results of his rigorous rehabilitation to the damaged ligaments in his left foot.

On Tuesday Evans, 29, said he was put through a workout that involved quick, random cutting and "a little sprinting."

He said the foot remains relatively "weak." But it's as strong as it has been since he suffered the injury in an Oct. 14 pre-season game.

Said the forward: "I've still got a little limp in it, but there's definitely progress. I'm telling my teammates it won't be long till I'm back in the lineup."