'I feel good': Caris LeVert nearing return after completing his first practice of the season

Help is on the way. The Pacers guard participated in practice on Tuesday before the team departed for a two-game trip. (Watch him practice below.)

Caris LeVert shooting at a basket during Monday’s shootaround.

This was Caris LeVert for the past month. At the facility in practice gear, but only shooting alone at a basket. He hasn’t been able to be like the rest of his teammates and go through practice, learn the new system and the tendencies of the newcomers due to back tightness.

He’s walked through team drills, but LeVert had not been a full participant in practice until Tuesday. Following a regular scan on his back, after a pre-season CT scan revealed “an issue,” LeVert received clearance on Monday to ramp up his activity level even further.

At Monday’s shootaround, he was shooting alone with Obim Okeke, a basketball intern who was a walk-on guard for Baylor University’s national championship team. Player development assistant Jannero Pargo then joined them for shooting work around the hoop.

By Tuesday, after the Pacers lost to the Bucks to drop to 1-3 to begin the season, LeVert was in a good mood for obvious reasons. “What’s going on, y’all?” he said.