The Toronto Raptors may not have guard Gary Trent Jr. as well as forwards Scottie Barnes and Thaddeus Young in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Barnes (ankle) and Young (thumb) sustained injuries in Saturday’s game, which the 76ers easily won 131-111. For his part, Trent Jr. is having difficulty with a disease unrelated to COVID-19.
Head coach Nick Nurse said all three players were questionable for Monday night’s game.
You see, it’s not good for these guys, Nurse told reporters on Sunday. For the three, their presence is likely to be considered suspicious. We will review the situation as we go and see where we are taken.
Barnes, a rookie of the year contender, had a good first playoff game. He had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists before stepping on one foot by 76ers center Joel Embiid, a 127 kg (280 lb) colossus. There are still about nine minutes left to play.
Barnes sustained a sprained left ankle in that streak.
The kid with the thumb injury left the game in the second quarter.
For his part, Trent Jr. had a difficult night on Saturday, he was limited to 9 points in 26 minutes of play.
It’s to be commended that he worked hard on the court last night because he was having a hard time, as you all saw, Nurse said of Trent Jr. I’ll give him due credit, but we’ll see where we can get to him from there.
All-star point guard Fred VanVleet, who has missed 11 of the Raptors ’last 24 games due to a knee injury, said the injuries and difficulty are not new to the Torontonians.
We’ve been playing all year without players. Obviously, at this time of year, you want to get all your best players, but we’ll see who will be available on the morning of the match and who won’t. Then, everyone needs to raise their game by a notchVanVleet’s argument.
VanVleet added that the team has responded well to adversity throughout the year and needs to do it again despite absences on Monday night.
The Raptors seemed to be overwhelmed by the 76ers in Game 1 and VanVleet admitted the team was quite soft and quite slow in the first game on the road, which he attributed to the inexperience of the Toronto squad.
We’re a young team, let’s not forget that. I know we played well and had a good streak at the end of the year, but it was a good wake-up call for a lot of guys.said VanVleet, with 18 points and 6 assists in Game 1.
The Raptors will host Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Saturday respectively.
Source: Radio-Canada