It was announced today that Jakob Poeltl will miss tomorrow night’s action against the Brooklyn Nets for lower back injury management, an injury that has plagued the 30-year old center all season. Resting him on the first night of a back-to-back against the Brooklyn Nets will allow him to be ready for a Monday matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who sit just behind Toronto in the standings.
While Poeltl has had an up and down start to the season (due to the injury), he has played much better of late. In the last 8 games Poeltl has played in, the Raptors are 8-0 and he is averaging 13.6 points and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 79.6% from the field.
The Raptors may also be without Collin Murray-Boyles for the third straight game, who is questionable as he continues to recover from an MCL sprain he suffered against the Charlotte Hornets. It would be a big blow as Murray-Boyles has typically started in place of Poeltl when he’s out. The 20-year old rookie has had a stellar start to his season, averaging 8.5 points and 3.5 rebounds while guarding some of the league’s best.
Being without both Poeltl and Murray-Boyles would leave the Raptors very thin in the frontcourt. But would provide an opportunity to give extended run to Sandro Mamukelashvili, who has been off to a blazing-hot start to the season.
On the Nets side, they will be without Cam Thomas (Hamstring), Haywood Highsmith (Knee), and Ben Saraf (Ankle). They will be relying on Nic Claxton to get it done for them, who had his first career triple double against Boston on Friday night.
The Raptors are looking to extend their win streak to seven and improve their overall record to 12-5, which would help maintain their position over the Cavaliers in the standings heading into Monday night’s matchup.
Tomorrow night’s action against the Brooklyn Nets tips off at 6pm ET on Sportsnet.
