Lucas Nogueira may return from a three-game absence on Sunday when the Toronto Raptors take on the Philadelphia 76ers.
Then again, he may not. Like Friday, Nogueira is technically active and dressed, but head coach Dwane Casey was noncommittal on using him. With Bismack Biyombo and Luis Scola playing well of late, there’s less need to rely on Nogueira, allowing the team to bring him along slowly unless absolutely necessary
“Bebe” broke out over a three-game stretch last week, only to have his momentum stalled by a sprained left ankle. That’s been par for the course for Nogueira, who has struggled with minor injuries in each of his two seasons, precluding him from carving out a consistent role in head coach Dwane Casey’s rotation.
Luckily for the Brazilian sophomore, his time on the shelf was brief and Jonas Valanciunas remains sidelined, meaning his window is still open. Nogueira averaged 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15.8 minutes while shooting 81.3 percent in four games after being recalled from a successful two-game D-League assignment. A strong screen-setter with the length to help protect the rim on defense and finish around it on offense, the 23-year-old has appreciable upside but is still nailing down some of the intricacies of the team’s defensive scheme. His performances against the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors, in particular, have been immensely encouraging.
While it’d be nice to see Nogueira back in action, the team’s in a back-to-back situation and may be best served saving him for Indiana tomorrow rather than risk a flare up of the ankle. As recently as Friday, Nogueira admitted there was still a lot of swelling, though he wanted to be on the court.
“I waited for my chance a year and a half, you don’t think I want to play?” Nogueira said to Raptors Republic ahead of the 905 game at the Air Canada Centre, a message to anyone thinking he’s slow-playing his return or is injury prone for some internal, not-entirely-physical reason.
Odds and ends
*There aren’t many other notes from Sunday’s pre-game media availability. The Sixers will start T.J. McConnell and Isaiah Canaan at the guard spots instead of Kendall Marshall and Nik Stauskas. Marshall is on a 16-minute limit and head coach Brett Brown would rather him come off the bench so he’s available if the game is close late. Brown admitted thinking of starting Stauskas because the game is in Toronto but wants him focusing on defense with the second unit, instead.
*Expect Delon Wright to be recalled after the 905 game on Sunday. The Raptors will likely want the depth on their impending three-game road trip.
*There could be more Norman Powell tonight against the Sixers. Casey wants to get him more minutes with DeMarre Carroll out and the Sixers, on the first night of a back-to-back, represent a reasonable opportunity to do so. Powell saw five minutes aginst the Lakers on Monday, his first action since Nov. 18
