They’ll be a little less competition for minutes amongst the Toronto Raptors glut of wings on Tuesday.
Ochai Agbaji has been ruled out for the Raptors’ game against the Brooklyn Nets with lower back spasms, Raptors PR announced.
After receiving a spot start in Jakob Poeltl’s absence in a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday – he scored zero points and grabbed two boards in 15 minutes – Agbaji will now miss his first game of the season due to injury. The fourth-year wing was a DNPCD against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
Agbaji’s minutes, role and production have decreased this season as he battles with Gradey Dick, Ja’Kobe Walter and Jamison Battle for minutes. The 25-year-old is averaging only 2.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists compared to his statline of 10.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists last season, all of which were career highs.
His 3-point shooting has also taken a major dip, albeit through a tiny sample. Agbaji is 1-of-12 (8.3%) thus far after posting a career-high at 39.9% in 2024-25.
It stands to reason that Dick, who is leading the group of four bench wings with 15.5 minutes and 7.8 points, will see plenty of the floor along with one or both of Walter and Battle. Walter has struggled so far this year shooting 25% from the floor and 26.7% from three on limited minutes and looking uncomfortable and hesitant at times. Alternatively, Battle has been scalding hot, shooting 10-of-14 from 3 (71.4%) including a perfect 6-of-6 performance that helped secure the Raptors’ first NBA Cup win of the season over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Sandro Mamukelashvili is questionable for the game with a neck contusion and stiffness, meanwhile Poeltl was not listed on the injury report and is set to return for the Raptors after resting for the second game of a back-to-back against the 76ers on Saturday while recovering from a back issue of his own.
