An otherwise positive night started on a somewhat sour note.
Sophomore guard Ja’Kobe Walter was the latest Toronto Raptors player to get bitten by the injury bug, leaving Sunday’s overtime win against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a right-hip pointer injury.
Less than five minutes into his ninth start of the season, Walter had to leave and did not return for the remainder of the contest. The 21-year-old suffered the injury when he finished a layup in transition while taking a bump from 76ers wing Kelly Oubre Jr.
Walter appeared to be in discomfort after the hit and eventually made his way to the locker room area before ultimately being ruled out. He posted two points and an assist in 4:43 of action through the first quarter.
Especially bad timing since Walter was coming off his best game of the year — dropping a season-best 19 points — with five made threes — in Friday’s loss to the Boston Celtics.
Last year’s 19th overall pick has been a consistent presence in the Raptors’ lineup this season, making appearances in 37 games thus far. Walter entered Sunday averaging 6.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.9 steals while shooting 37.3 per cent from deep in Year 2.
There was no update on Walter’s status post-game, and the guard now potentially joins a Raptors’ injured list that’s been steadily growing of late. The team is already without RJ Barrett (ankle), Brandon Ingram (thumb) and Jakob Poeltl (back), while they just got Scottie Barnes (knee) back on Sunday.
Despite the laundry list of injuries, which now includes Walter, Toronto was still able to pull off a thrilling overtime win over Philadelphia on Sunday night. The Raptors will get little time to nurse those injuries, however, as they return to action on Monday, capping off the back-to-back with a rematch against the 76ers in Toronto.
