Toronto Raptors Loaded Injury Report Against Orlando Magic

Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors achieved a 119-106 bounce-back win against the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night in Scotiabank Arena. Barnes, who filled in as the team’s starting point guard with Immanuel Quickley out, stuffed the stat sheet in the victory, supplying 23 points, 12 assists, six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. 

The extent of Quickley’s plantar fasciitis remains undetermined at this point; in the past, some players have sat out for months, while others have played through the injury. Given that the former Kentucky Wildcat has been listed as out immediately before the past two games, there is no timetable to return. However, he should still be considered day-to-day until an update emerges. 

Toronto has had few games with a clean injury report this season. RJ Barrett played just six games in a two-month period due to separate knee and ankle injuries, Jakob Poeltl sat out 24 straight games due to a lower back strain, and recently, Collin Murray-Boyles just returned from an 11-game absence due to a left thumb sprain. In his first game back in action, Quickley was ruled out shortly before tipoff and hasn’t played since. 

Going into tomorrow’s important matchup with the Orlando Magic, the official NBA injury report shows that durability is going downhill in Toronto at the worst time. 

The Raptors' starting point guard, again, has been ruled out over 24 hours prior to the contest. Brandon Ingram (right heel inflammation), Trayce Jackson-Davis (right knee tendinitis), and Murray-Boyles (lower back spasms) are all listed as questionable. 

Thankfully for Toronto, none of these injuries come as a surprise. Quickley is set to miss his fourth-straight game with the foot issue, Ingram missed the game in Utah due to the issue and has played through the injury in the previous two games, and Jackson-Davis sat out last night’s contest against the Pelicans with the knee injury. 

Whether these injuries are surprising or not, they are detrimental given the Raptors' playoff aspirations. If the playoffs were to start today, who knows whether they would all be ready to go or not, but every game matters leading up to the postseason due to the seeding race in the Eastern Conference. Last night’s victory and Atlanta’s 109-102 defeat to the Boston Celtics boosted Toronto back into the fifth seed with nine games to play. 

However, still only 2.5 games separate the fifth and tenth seeds. Fifth-place likely will play the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, while tenth-place will be forced to win back-to-back games in the Play-In Tournament just to be able to play the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in a seven-game series.