The Toronto Raptors are inching closer to being totally healthy, just days before their home opener.
Canadian swingman RJ Barrett was upgraded to day-to-day and engaged in non-contact practise on Monday, two days before Toronto hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers at Scotiabank Arena. Once Barrett is healthy, he will immediately slot into the Raptors’ starting lineup.
“It’s tough, especially for a team like us,” said centre Jakob Poeltl, who missed the final 32 games of last season after he had surgery to repair his left pinky finger. “We haven’t played together for very long, like the starters played a little bit together last year,
“We’ve got so many new faces, the more practice and games we can get in together, the better.”
Barrett, from Mississauga, Ont., has been out with a sprained shoulder since the Raptors’ first pre-season game on Oct. 6. Rookie combo guard Ja’Kobe Walter, who missed the entire pre-season, is also out with a sprained shoulder.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic said Walter also practised on Monday, but the 19th overall pick in last summer’s NBA Draft is considered week-to-week.
Veteran forward Bruce Brown (arthroscopic knee surgery) was active on Monday, doing shooting drills with coaching staff at OVO Athletic Centre. Kelly Olynyk (back) of Kamloops, B.C., did not participate.
“It hurts us that we have a few guys out, but I’d rather have it happen now than during the regular season,” said Poeltl. “So let’s hope everybody stays healthy for the rest of the season.”
Barrett’s upgraded status came days after point guard Immanuel Quickley returned to Toronto’s starting lineup on Friday in Brooklyn after he missed the first four pre-season games with a sprained thumb.
“We missed him out during the pre-season,” said Poeltl of Quickley. “He’s our offensive floor general. He spaces the floor really well.
“(We) worked a lot in the summertime on our little two-man game, so it’s too bad we didn’t get to try it in the pre-season. We’re going to have to go all-in with it in the regular season.”
Toronto finished the pre-season with a 3-2 record, including impressive wins over the NBA champion Boston Celtics and Brooklyn last week to close out the exhibition period.
The Raptors averaged 113.2 points per game in the pre-season, 10th best in the NBA. They had a league-best 31.4 assists per game, and were sixth-best with 48.6 rebounds per game. All three stats are improvements on the numbers from last season’s disappointing 25-57 campaign.
But those stats — and any exhibition numbers — should be taken with a grain of salt.
Key Toronto players like Scottie Barnes, Barrett, Quickley, Brown, and Olynyk missed some or all of the pre-season, and the same could be said for their opponents. Rajakovic was pragmatic about the raft of injuries, suggesting that the Raptors didn’t rush anyone back.
“We’ve got to take the approach one game at a time and really be focused on that next day and next practice and next team,” he said. “We are looking at the long-term interest of the team and long-term interest of the players.
“We want players to be healthy and available for a long run, not just necessarily for one game or the other.”