Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet has been ruled out of Game 5 against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday due to a hip flexor strain.
VanVleet suffered the injury in the first half of Game 4, which Toronto held on to win without him. Now down 3-1 in the series, the Raptors go back to Philadelphia without their All-Star guard but with a little more confidence after playing things a lot closer at home. Fighting for their playoff lives, I’m still picking them to cover as 7.5-point underdogs on Tipico Sportsbook.
VanVleet has played well below his regular-season standard this series, averaging six points fewer in the playoffs on just 35% from the field. And even with his struggles, particularly the last two games — 17 points, 5-of-19 (26%), 3-of-13 on 3-pointers — Toronto has a plus-five combined scoring margin in Games 3 and 4.
