Nenê to Return to Court Tonight

After working through his first scrimmage since the beginning of January and his cancer diagnosis, Nenê is expected to suit up for the Denver Nuggets. He could play a few minutes in Thursday's game against the Dallas Mavericks.

For now, the plan is for Nenê to play around five minutes. Nenê considers his return a major milestone in his ongoing recovery from testicular cancer.

"It's going to be (a) special day in my life," he said. "Just five minutes, not much. Just to feel part of the process. It's going to be like 50 minutes. I just hope and hold yourself emotionally. I'm nervous about that."

On January 11, 2008, Nenê announced he was taking an indefinite absence from the team for medical issues. Four days later, he had surgery to removed a malignant testicular tumor. A month ago, Nenê underwent chemotherapy to prevent a recurrence. There was no timetable for his return, but Nenê was allowed to begin working out by physicians following a recovery period.

I think we are all fans of Nenê and hope he makes a smooth return to the court tonight.