Immanuel Quickley will make his long-awaited return to the Toronto Raptors’ lineup on Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets.
The dynamic point guard has only played in three games this season, the last coming on Nov. 10 against the Los Angeles Lakers. He has since been out due to a partial tear in the UCL of his left elbow.
Toronto still won’t be at full strength as R.J. Barrett misses out due to illness and Bruce Brown is sitting out the second night of a back-to-back after making his season debut on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics.
After sitting out with a sore hamstring against Boston, Gradey Dick will make his return to the lineup as well. Rookie Ja’Kobe Walter was initially listed as questionable with a sprained finger but is available to play.
Morale Boost
The Raptors have lost 11 straight games entering Wednesday’s action and hold the league’s third-worst record at 7-26. The last week in particular has been particularly ugly, losing 155-126 to Memphis, committing 31 turnovers in a 136-107 loss to Atlanta, and a 54-point drubbing by Boston Tuesday afternoon.
After the ugly home loss to the Hawks, head coach Darko Rajakovic spoke of the team appearing to have hit a wall, looking tired and weary.
Injury Toll
Health has been a major issue for Toronto all season. The projected starting five of Quickley, Dick, Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl have yet to play a minute together.
Beyond that, rotation pieces like Brown, Walter and Kelly Olynyk have all missed significant time.
Players have been asked to do more than their ideal roles and being overextended for so long seemingly took its toll the past week. In that sense, Quickley’s return has been long overdue.
High Expectations
Quickley agreed to a five-year, $175 million deal to remain with the Raptors over the summer. This is his first year playing under the new contract.
In 38 games with Toronto last season after being acquired from the New York Knicks via trade, Quickley averaged 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and shot 37.5 percent from three.
Along with Barnes, the 25-year-old is viewed as integral part of the Raptors’ rebuilding core.
