TORONTO – The reeling Toronto Raptors may very well be getting some much-needed assist.
Gary Trent Jr., who’s missed two video games with a deep bruise in his proper calf, practised on Wednesday and will return to the lineup when the Raptors host the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
The dangerous information nevertheless is that OG Anunoby — whose wonderful play was abruptly halted by a hip harm that has seen him sit out seven straight video games — didn’t take part in observe, nor did Khem Birch (knee swelling).
“OG shouldn’t be prepared for tomorrow,” coach Nick Nurse mentioned in delivering the grim information.
The Raptors have been hit arduous by accidents already this younger NBA season, lacking Pascal Siakam for the primary 10 video games, and now Anunoby and Birch.
The pair of massive males are sorely missed as Toronto (9-13) has tumbled down the standings to twelfth within the Japanese Convention. They’ve received simply three of their final 13 video games, and are an uncharacteristically horrible 2-8 at house this season.
Nurse has no rationalization for why his crew has fared higher on the street.
“I don’t know,” he mentioned. “We’ve got generally some actually good street gamers. Kyle (Lowry) was an incredible street participant. We’ve had an actual band-together mentality on the street, an actual grittiness on the street. I suppose we’ve this yr too extra instances than we’ve at house, that’s for certain.”
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Is it simpler to play on the street?
“I feel it may be,” Nurse mentioned. “As soon as the ball goes up it ought to seemingly be tougher with the group and all that stuff. Issues main as much as the sport could also be harder at house.”
Lacking Anunoby, Birch and Trent, the Raptors had hassle producing any offence in an unsightly 98-91 loss to Memphis on Tuesday evening that noticed large pockets of empty seats in Scotiabank Enviornment earlier than the ultimate buzzer sounded.
All the time wonderful on the defensive finish, Anunoby had developed right into a key cog in Toronto’s offence this season. He led the crew in scoring with 20.1 factors earlier than he injured his hip in observe on Nov. 17, a day after scoring 29 factors towards Portland.
Making matter worse, the hip pointer — ache and/or bruising excessive or entrance of the hip bone normally brought on by a direct blow — seems extra severe than maybe initially thought. He “hit a wall” in his restoration, Nurse mentioned earlier this week, and the hip isn’t therapeutic in addition to the crew had hoped.
Fred VanVleet, who had 15 factors and 9 rebounds in Tuesday’s loss, was requested how powerful it’s to generate offence with key gamers lacking.
“I’d like to have a solution for you,” VanVleet mentioned. “I’d say it’s an extended season. It’s five-, six-month season, playoffs is even longer. So that you simply fear about ‘are you able to create the shot?’
“There’s going to be nights once they go in, there’s going to be nights the place we rating 140 factors. There’s going to be nights whenever you rating 80, or 39 in a half. It’s going to occur.”
VanVleet mentioned the sting of dropping at house wasn’t considerably sharper than a loss on the street.
“It’s simply disappointing to lose, it doesn’t actually have something to do with taking part in at house to be trustworthy with you. We might play on Pluto for all I care, it’s simply disappointing to lose any time,” he mentioned. “We anticipate to win round right here, we’ve excessive requirements and that’s not going to alter.”
The Raptors, who rank thirteenth within the league in offensive effectivity and a lowly twenty fourth in defensive effectivity, should hope they will flip issues round at house, since 10 of their 13 video games in December are at Scotiabank Enviornment.
On the plus aspect, the season remains to be younger, and the Raptors are solely two-and-a-half video games out of the play-in match.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Dec. 1, 2021.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
