Update: as reported by Michael Grange, Siakam’s groin strain is considered “fairly mild.”
I’m hearing of the three Siakam will most likely be the earliest to return; Raptors exercising caution for what is a fairly mild strain: https://t.co/ieE6JO05Am
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) December 20, 2019
Toronto’s win over the Detroit Pistons was, it now turns out, cursed.
Marc Gasol pulled up after no contact early in the game and clutched his hamstring. He immediately left for the locker room. He was re-evaluated Thursday in Toronto, and he will be out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. Gasol has been brilliant defensively on the year, and Toronto will miss him.
Norman Powell hurt his left shoulder in the fourth quarter while trying to get over a screen. He was also tested on Thursday, and it has been determined that he sustained a subluxation of his left shoulder. A subluxation is a partial dislocation. He will be out indefinitely, and as a point of comparison, rather than prediction, the same injury kept him out of games for well over a month last year.
Pascal Siakam’s injury announcement came as news today. He hurt himself in an awkward fall midway through the fourth quarter.
The play on which Siakam stretched his groin. Per team, he’ll be out indefinitelyhttps://t.co/hyatT3fxM2 pic.twitter.com/rER9ynaKpY
— Louis Zatzman (@LouisZatzman) December 20, 2019
There was no inkling after the game that Siakam was hurt, and he didn’t leave the game after the fall. The team announced that, like the others, he was tested on Thursday, and he will be out indefinitely. He has a stretched groin, which isn’t a term for an injury I’ve ever heard before. It could be a strain or a pull, or something like that, and the team may be keeping the severity of the injury private by using the term “strained.”
The team announced that all three players will be reevaluated over coming weeks. The Raptors currently have Fred VanVleet, Matt Thomas, and Stanley Johnson on the shelf, and Gasol, Powell, and Siakam will now be added to the injured list. VanVleet could return soon, as he’s been listed as day-to-day with a knee contusion for several games now.
It’s been a difficult season thus far in terms of injuries for Toronto players, and it seems it is only getting worse. But Toronto has shown quality to their depth, and they’ve shown tenacity when they’ve lost important players throughout the season. If the Raptors continue to treat the regular season as an 82-game practice, they could be able to remain competitive and learn something in the process. That’s the closest thing to a silver lining I’ve got.
