He became a detriment to the Raptors' flow on both ends last season, and he's hoping to put an end to that with a new health regimen.
The Toronto Raptors’ training camp has been filled with excitement for the eager fanbase as they prepare for the first preseason game of the year tomorrow against the Miami Heat. While it surely will not be the dramatic competition that fans will get to experience later in the year, being able to watch the Raptors play against another team for the first time since May is a thrill in itself, regardless of who is on the court for either team.
However, if the new superstar pairing of 10-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo and three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo does take the court together for the first time, Raptors starting center Jakob Poeltl will have his work cut out for him. After sitting out for 24 straight games last season due to a lower back strain, he never fully returned to form in terms of aggressiveness and physicality. This was evident in the first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, where the Austrian big man rapidly lost minutes due to his inability to affect Cavaliers big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on either end.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward/center Evan Mobley (4) and Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) | Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesTomorrow night could be Poeltl’s first opportunity to prove that he has found his health again. TSN Sports’ Josh Lewenberg reported that the former No. 9 pick in the 2016 NBA draft took his injury recovery very seriously over the summer.
"[Poeltl] spent most of the off-season in his native Austria, where he hired and worked with a strength and conditioning coach that specializes in helping athletes bounce back from injury," said Lewenberg. "In consultation with the Raptors’ medical staff, they made some changes to Poeltl’s training routine and crafted a program specifically designed to manage his reoccurring back pain."
It’s highly likely that the Raptors organization already knew about this step forward towards recovery, but this is substantial news for the fans. Of all injuries, dealing with back pain as a 30-year-old 7-footer isn’t something that typically just goes away, and with a three-year contract extension set to kick in next season, the franchise needs him to find his best basketball moving forward.
Now doing a mobility lift before training, Poeltl is focusing on loosening up the surrounding muscles to ease the tension on his lower back. This should allow him to not only feel less stiff during the games, but also be warmer going into the contests and start with more energy than ever before. The Raptors are going to need him to; putting his substantial contract aside, there is very little help around second-year forward Collin Murray-Boyles in the frontcourt rotation. Toronto has been at its best when Poeltl is thriving as a rebounder and interior scorer, so if he can find that version of himself during training camp and the preseason, the Raptors could continue to intrigue as a dark horse candidate to win the championship this season.
