We’ve had plenty of injury report updates so far today. The Raptors were already poised to look a lot different than the last time they faced the Denver Nuggets in December, but now they’re even more depleted.
Of the five Raptors who played more than 30 minutes in their overtime loss at Portland on Saturday night, Gradey Dick and Kelly Olynyk are the only two available for tonight’s game.
Better news, RJ Barrett will likely be back in the lineup after missing Toronto’s last game due to illness.
More than half of the Raptors roster (8 out of 15 players) is now on the injury report for tonight’s game against Denver. The last:
Quickly: O (hip)
Trent: O (groin)
Butcher: O (knee)
Barnes: O (hand)
Poeltl: O (hand)
Box: O (ankle)Barrett: P (disease)
Brown: Q (knee)
–Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) March 11, 2024
Only time will tell who will actually face the Raptors tonight, as the team is already down to nine NOT ruled out players, with Bruce Brown still listed as questionable after missing the last four games.
The defending champions were already going to be tough at home where they are tied for the second-best home record in the league, but now it’s even more so with most of Toronto’s starters missing the game.
Tonight could be a good thing, though, for those following the Raptors’ draft chances. With just 1.5 games ahead of Memphis, the Raptors need their 2024 first-round pick to be among the top six picks in the draft in order to keep him and not send him to San Antonio to finalize the draft. exchange with Jakob Poeltl. If the Grizzlies were to overtake Toronto to finish the season, their odds of winning the No. 1 overall pick would increase by 1.5% and their chances of keeping their pick would be even higher.
How to watch:
Sportsnet at 9 p.m. ET
Probable compositions:
Toronto: Bruce Brown, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, RJ Barrett, Kelly Olynyk
Denver: Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic
Injuries:
Toronto: Scottie Barnes (out – hand), RJ Barrett (probable – illness), Chris Boucher (out – knee), Bruce Brown (questionable – knee), DJ Carton (out – ankle), Jakob Poeltl (out – hand), Immanuel Quickley (out – hip), Gary Trent Jr. (out – groin)
Denver: Vlatko Cancar (out – knee), DeAndre Jordan (questionable – illness)
