Toronto Raptors Injury Report Against the Phoenix Suns

Friday night basketball is alive and well, and the Toronto Raptors are set to face off against the Phoenix Suns in Scotiabank Arena. After losing six of their last eight outings, head coach Darko Rajakovic and his squad will look to bounce back against a red-hot Suns team that has won four in a row and six of their last eight. 

It seems the Raptors are at their lowest point of this season after falling to 36-29. While they still have dramatically improved after missing the playoffs in three straight seasons, dropping from the third seed to the seventh in a matter of six weeks is not a recipe for success heading into the postseason. Further adding to that notion, Toronto’s record this season against the top-10 teams in the NBA sits at 1-18, outside of the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

The time is now for the Raptors to turn things around and control their own destiny before the playoffs. They are only one game out of the fifth seed, which would allow them to avoid the Play-In Tournament, and just 3.5 games outside of the fourth seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Coming back home after an empty two-game road trip, winning tonight would provide significant momentum going into their next game against the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons. 

According to the official NBA injury report, the Raptors may be trending upwards in the durability department against the Suns. 

After playing against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night, Jakob Poeltl and Trayce-Jackson Davis are no longer on the injury report and are good to go against Phoenix. Standout rookie Collin-Murray Boyles, who has missed the last six games due to a left thumb sprain, has been listed as doubtful for the first time since reigniting the injury. Finally, two-time All-Star Scottie Barnes is listed as questionable due to an illness.

Poeltl and Jackson-Davis appear to have moved past their respective illness and dislocated finger, supplying definitive support to the lacking front-court unit in Houston on Tuesday night. While Murray-Boyles likely won’t go against the Suns, it’s encouraging to see the doubtful tag because that means that he is somewhat close to a return. Barnes appears to have picked up the illness that has bounced around the team over the past couple of weeks, so time will tell how severe it is and whether he will be good to go Friday night. 

Durability has been a significant issue for the Raptors this season, specifically Poeltl (lower back strain), RJ Barrett (separate knee and ankle injuries), and now Murray-Boyles (thumb sprain). Having one of these three missing desperately affects a team that has offensive consistency and size/physicality as its main issues. Toronto will have to continue to make do until the team is fully healthy and see what heights it is able to reach before the postseason begins.