The Toronto Raptors got a scare at the end of the second quarter of Sunday’s Game 4 against the Washington Wizards.
OG Anunoby fell to the floor underneath Toronto’s basket after defending a John Wall drive. He took a full possession to get to his feet, limping badly on his right ankle. The Raptors failed to call a timeout and instead turned the ball over to Wall, who Anunoby had to foul as he got to his feet. Anunoby went directly to the locker room.
The play that led to OG going down. #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/kYvwrKW1Of
— Doc Naismith (@DocNaismith) April 22, 2018
Anunoby was able to return to start the second half. He spent the warm-up portion of halftime testing the ankle out with the team’s training staff after having it re-taped, and it was deemed he could give it a go. The team called it a “rolled” right ankle, not even a sprain. So that’s good.
If Anunoby were to miss time – ankle sprains can sometimes get worse after the fact, though him returning should quell most of the concern – that would be a huge blow for the Raptors. Anunoby has been playing tremendously for them so far in the series, defending well, knocking down open looks, and working well as a cutter. He’s also come up with a number of big steals. Delon Wright and C.J. Miles split his last few minutes in the second, and what the Raptors would do without Anunoby in the bigger picture is unclear, especially with Fred VanVleet also sidelined. Norman Powell would almost certainly factor back into the rotation, though Miles or Wright might draw the start. For now, though, Anunoby is out there and everyone can breather a sigh of relief.
