Raptors Notes: Barnes, Barrett, Murray-Boyles, Battle
The Raptors’ Game 3 victory over the Cavaliers was powered by a masterpiece from Scottie Barnes, Eric Koreen writes for The Athletic. Barnes scored 33 points and added 11 assists with only one turnover as Toronto cruised to a 126-104 victory to prevent the Cavs from taking a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
“What he does is just so special,” said teammate Jamison Battle. “We have to play to that level every single night just because our leader is doing it. That’s what you want from your leader.”
The performance was even more impressive given the absence of Immanuel Quickley, who has since been ruled out for the remainder of the series with a hamstring injury, and the ongoing struggles of Brandon Ingram, who scored just 12 points on Thursday.
We have more on the Raptors:
- Also critical in the Game 3 victory was Canadian native RJ Barrett, who was thrilled to be playing his first playoff game in his home country, Michael Grange writes for Sportsnet. Like Barnes, Barrett had 33 points along with five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and six made threes on eight attempts. “He’s destroying that narrative that people think about him,” Barnes said after the game. “He’s helping our team out so much. He’s unbelievable, doing a great job scoring, playing defense, talking, being a leader on the floor. RJ is amazing.”
- Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles saved one of his best performances of the season for when it was most needed, contributing 22 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench. In doing so, he showed how important he is to the franchise in both the short- and long-term, Josh Lewenberg writes for TSN. The Raptors needed to nail their lottery pick in the 2025 draft, and it increasingly seems that they did just that.
- There were plenty of Game 3 heroes for the Raptors, both likely and unlikely. Battle is an example of the latter after he had played little more than garbage time in Games 1 and 2 heading into the must-win contest, Kai Gammage writes for Sportsnet. Battle finished the night with 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting from three. He put Toronto ahead early in the fourth quarter with a trio of triples that helped create the momentum the team would ride all the way to the victory.
Raptors Notes: Ingram, Poeltl, Quickley, Ownership
After attempting just nine shots from the floor in the Raptors‘ Game 1 loss in Cleveland on Saturday, Brandon Ingram was determined to be more aggressive against Cleveland’s defense in Game 2. However, as Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes, Ingram wasn’t effective in Toronto’s second straight loss on Monday, missing all six of his shot attempts in the first half and finishing the game with just seven points on 3-of-15 shooting.
“Of course it would happen if you ask for more shots, that you would miss more shots,” Ingram said after Game 2. “I liked the looks that I had. I’ll continue to be aggressive. I’ll do a better job of keeping the defense off balance by getting my teammates involved and still shooting the shots that I need to shoot. It’s game to game. You make adjustments. I won’t miss all my shots.”
A star player seeking more shots and then not making the most of them could be a source of friction in some locker rooms, writes Grange, but he says that’s not the case in Toronto. Although the team heads home down 2-0 in the series and with its leading scorer averaging just 12.0 PPG on 33.3% shooting, Ingram’s teammates – including Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett – know they need the All-Star forward to find his groove to have a chance to upset the Cavaliers.
“I just told him, ‘Stay in it. Stay in it. We need you,'” Barrett said of his message to Ingram in Monday’s second half. “He’s got us here, man. Like, the whole season, it’s been amazing for us. He’s been an All-Star. So just told him to stay in it, keep his head in it, that we need him. Because you know when I have my off nights, you know he’s right there to pick me up.”
Here are a few more items of interest on the Raptors before Thursday’s Game 3:
- After veteran big man Jakob Poeltl played just nine minutes in Game 2 and was benched in favor of rookie Collin Murray-Boyles at the start of the second half, head coach Darko Rajakovic wouldn’t say on Wednesday whether he might change his starting lineup for Game 3, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter links). However, he did tell reporters that he expects more out of his veteran center. “He needs to be part of the solution for us,” Rajakovic said of Poeltl. “He needs to be more aggressive. He needs to dominate the glass. … He’s going to be a big part of Game 3 and I believe he’s going to perform really well.”
- Will Immanuel Quickley be available for Game 3 after missing the first two games of the series with a hamstring injury? The Raptors haven’t put out their injury report yet, but the starting point guard did some individual on-court work after Wednesday’s practice, tweets Lewenberg. Rajakovic said Quickley is “getting better every day,” according to Grange (Twitter link).
- Rogers Communications, the Canadian media and communications giant that currently controls 75% of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the Raptors’ parent company, intends to buy the remaining 25% later this year, as Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico details. Once that purchase is completed, Rogers will look to bring in minority investors for its sports assets, per Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri. In addition to the Raptors, MLSE also controls the NHL’s Maple Leafs, MLB’s Blue Jays, and MLS’ Toronto FC. Staffieri estimated that the company’s sports assets, which would likely include media properties such as Sportsnet, will have a total value exceeding $18 billion USD.
Raptors Notes: Inexperience, Adjustments, Ingram, CMB
The Raptors‘ “limitations and inexperience” were significant factors in Saturday’s Game 1 loss in Cleveland, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Toronto had the fifth-best defensive rating in the NBA during the regular season largely because the team was so good at forcing turnovers. Those takeaways led to fast-break opportunities, with the Raptors leading the league in transition points.
However, the Raptors were unable to get enough stops on Saturday in a loss that was more lopsided than the final score (126-113) suggests. They also only had three transition points, Koreen writes.
“I feel like they were getting back,” Scottie Barnes said. “Just trying to wait for us, other than them top-locking (Brandon Ingram). But everyone else was just trying to stay compact, stopping us from running.”
“I think you could see it was a focus for them to get back in transition,” added RJ Barrett, one of the biggest beneficiaries when the Raptors are able to score on the move. “We ran against them a lot during the year. I think that was a focus. But also, we’ve got to get stops.”
While some players pointed to improved effort as a necessity heading into Game 2, Koreen believes the larger issue is the Cavs are the more experienced and talented team, which makes them more adept at making in-game adjustments.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Head coach Darko Rajakovic is mulling lineup changes ahead of Monday’s game, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “Every scenario is on the table,” said Rajakovic, who pointed to turnovers, defensive rebounding and overall defense as improvement areas for Game 2.
- Another adjustment Rajakovic was focused on was getting Brandon Ingram more involved offensively, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca relays (Twitter links). The All-Star forward had 17 points on Saturday but attempted just one field goal in the second half. “We had a long day yesterday watching film, long meetings this morning, great conversations today,” Rajakovic said Sunday. “So, we’re going to have some solutions and try to adjust. But, definitely, we’ve gotta involve Brandon much more in our offense and we have a plan to do so.” For his part, Ingram said he needs to up his aggression and find ways to score on and off the ball, Lewenberg adds.
- In an interesting interview with Forbes contributor Mark Medina, lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles discusses his growth over his rookie season, prioritizing team success over individual accolades, and his nagging left thumb injury, which he admits will likely continue to bother him for the rest of 2025/26. “I know the team needs me,” Murray-Boyles said. “I know I’m a big part of what Darko needs with the energy that I bring, the defensive intensity and being a play-maker in our offense. I’m trying to get back into the flow of our game and how we play. I’m just trying to impact it.”
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Embiid, Grimes, Ingram, CMB
The nine players the Knicks used in Thursday’s win over Boston will likely make up the team’s playoff rotation, head coach Mike Brown said after the game, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. That group includes starters Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Miles Bridges and Josh Hart, plus reserves Mitchell Robinson, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, and Jordan Clarkson.
“Those guys are probably our top nine when you’re talking about the playoffs,” Brown said. “And it’s hard to play more than nine guys (in the playoffs).”
While it’s probably no shock that rookie forward Mohamed Diawara and second-year guard Tyler Kolek didn’t make the cut, it’s notable that veteran guard Jose Alvarado – whom New York gave up a couple second-round picks to acquire in February – isn’t among that top nine. The former Pelican has been a DNP-CD in each of the Knicks’ past two games, but he suggested on Thursday that he’s unfazed by his declining role.
“I’m good. I’m chilling. I’m ready for my moment. I’m ready for my name to get called, whenever it is,” Alvarado said, according to Bondy. “Like you said, I started off here high. That was the best way to start. So there’s only one way to go — down. We just stay there mentally. This is my home team. I love the organization, I love the Knicks. So just whenever it’s Jose’s time, whenever that time is, I’m ready.”
Here’s more from out of the Atlantic:
- Joel Embiid‘s emergency appendectomy changes everything for the Sixers, making the team’s path to a playoff spot more difficult and significantly reducing its odds of winning a series, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. The 76ers issued an update on Embiid on Friday, announcing that he’s returning to Philadelphia following a successful procedure in Houston, but no timeline has been set for his return to basketball activities (Twitter link via Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports).
- Quentin Grimes will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after accepting his one-year qualifying offer as a RFA last offseason. The Sixers guard’s role has fluctuated throughout the season with teammates in and out of the lineup, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, but Grimes recently described his performance in 2025/26 as “solid” and he believes he “maximized” his opportunities. “Be in attack mode. Be a good on-ball defender. Make plays for myself and teammates,” Grimes said last week. “The whole year has asked for me to do different things. But I feel like, when the whole team’s healthy, my natural self is still playing my same game I’ve been playing the whole year.”
- There was some uncertainty entering the fall about what the Raptors could expect from forward Brandon Ingram – who missed most of last season due to ankle injury – and lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles, who wasn’t viewed as an immediate difference-maker at the NBA level. But Toronto has gotten near best-case outcomes from both players, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, who says Ingram’s All-Star play and Murray-Boyles’ rapid development have helped get Toronto on the verge of its first playoff appearance since 2022. The Raptors can clinch a playoff berth with a win over New York on Friday, but they’ll be missing Murray-Boyles (neck sprain) and point guard Immanuel Quickley (plantar fasciitis injury management), tweets Grange.
Rory Maher contributed to this post.
Raptors Notes: Barnes, Walter, Quickley, CMB, Barrett
The Raptors picked up an important victory over New Orleans on Friday as they look to claim a guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
Jamal Shead had started two games in a row with Immanuel Quickley sidelined, but head coach Darko Rajakovic replaced Shead with Ja’Kobe Walter on Friday. That left Scottie Barnes as the team’s primary offensive initiator, and he had an excellent all-around game, finishing with 23 points (on 10-of-14 shooting), 12 assists, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 36 minutes.
“First of all, he’s a pass-first player,” Rajakovic said of Barnes. “He likes to move, to pass, he likes to find his teammates in transition. He’s scanning the floor and it really allows him with his size and his athletic ability to play over the top of the defense.”
Second-year wing Walter also had a strong showing, recording 18 points and four assists in 34 minutes.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- It’s unclear when the plantar fascitiis in Quickley’s right foot began to really bother him, according to Grange, but he’s out for the fourth straight game on Sunday vs. Orlando. “It is at the point now that it needs to be managed. The best and the only way to get it completely healed is to not do anything for two, three, four weeks. Obviously that’s not going to be the case with IQ. He’s going to get better through this,” said Rajakovic. “This is going to help him recover. He’s going to be available to play. We’ve just got to get him off his feet right now. It was there. It was kind of nagging. He was able to play through it through recovery and therapy and everything. It just flared up quite a bit and put him in a situation where he has to sit out a couple games.”
- Collin Murray-Boyles was a late scratch for Sunday’s contest due to lower back spasms, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. The rookie big man was previously listed as questionable and had been expected to play before he was ruled out.
- RJ Barrett sustained a left shoulder injury in Friday’s win and is a game-time decision for Sunday’s matchup with the Magic, according to Murphy (Twitter link). Barrett was able to play through the shoulder issue, which is being referred to as tightness, on Friday. His former Duke teammate Zion Williamson was the cause of the injury, Grange notes. “I was just trying to box him out,” said Barrett, demonstrating how he put his forearm on Williamson’s shoulder. “And when he jumped, he took my arm up with him. He didn’t even know he did it. He’s a force, man.”
Atlantic Notes: Fultz, George, McCain, Minott, Tatum
The Raptors were down three starters on Monday vs. Utah, with Brandon Ingram (right heel inflammation), Immanuel Quickley (plantar fasciitis), and Jakob Poeltl (injury load management) all sidelined, notes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). However, rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles returned following an 11-game absence due to a thumb injury, and newly signed point guard Markelle Fultz made his Toronto debut.
The Raptors were outscored by 15 points during Fultz’s 16 minutes of action, and he had more turnovers (3) than points (2). However, there were also some “flashes of high-level play,” according to Grange. The former No. 1 overall pick contributed five assists and pair of steals off the bench in a victory over the Jazz. Notably, it was his second game of the day, as he had also suited up in the morning for the Raptors 905 in the G League before officially being promoted to the NBA.
“He’s (a) point guard. You can see that he’s comfortable getting the team into the offense and organizing, and he had five assists,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It was awesome to see him out there, knowing that he played a game this morning.”
While it remains to be seen whether Fultz will stick with the Raptors beyond his initial 10-day contract, he has made a positive impression on the organization with his attitude since he originally joined Toronto’s G League affiliate.
“What I’ve been most impressed about was his level of professionalism and humility,” Raptors 905 coach Drew Jones said, per Grange. “You know, a former No. 1 pick, he could come in here and have a crazy chip on his shoulder, act like he owns the place. But he walked right in and said, ‘Coach, what do you need me to do? I said, ‘Lead, defend, and be the play-maker that we know you all are.’ And he’s been awesome, just awesome.”
We have more from around the Atlantic:
- Paul George served the 25th and final game of his suspension on Monday, meaning he’s eligible to return to the Sixers‘ lineup on Wednesday vs. Chicago. Head coach Nick Nurse said on Monday that George has “conditioned hard” during his absence, adding that he has no ramp-up concerns about the veteran forward, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports.
- Former Sixers guard Jared McCain scored 13 points off the bench on Monday to help the Thunder beat his old team. As Tony Jones of The Athletic writes, McCain admitted that it felt “a little weird” to be going up against the 76ers after having been traded out of Philadelphia just last month. “It was nice to come back, but it will definitely always feel weird coming back here,” he said. “It’s like a nostalgic feeling to come back and not live here. Hopefully, there is some closure that comes soon. But I still don’t think I have closure yet.”
- Acquired at February’s trade deadline in what was essentially just a salary-dump deal for Boston, Josh Minott may be carving out a role with the Nets going forward, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). As Lewis explains, Minott’s defensive tenacity and overall competitiveness is a welcome addition to a Brooklyn team that wants to be competitive next season, and his $2.6MM option for 2026/27 is extremely team-friendly.
- With Celtics star Jayson Tatum acknowledging that he’s frustrated by not yet being able to do everything he used to on the basketball court, Jay King of The Athletic checks in on Tatum’s early progress. The veteran forward’s defensive and rebounding numbers have been strong, King notes, but he’s taking more three-pointers and fewer free throws than he typically would.
Atlantic Notes: Poeltl, CMB, Alvarado, Clowney, MPJ
Jakob Poeltl doesn’t know the root cause of the back problems that caused him to miss 33 games this season, but the Raptors‘ starting center appears to be at full strength now and is grateful the issue seems to be behind him, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
Poeltl is averaging 13.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 0.9 steals while shooting 70.8% from the field in his last nine appearances (27.9 minutes per game). The 30-year-old logged a season-high 36 minutes in Sunday’s victory over Detroit, finishing with 21 points (on 9-of-12 shooting), 18 rebounds and five assists in a matchup against All-Star Jalen Duren.
“I felt fine, honestly,” said Poeltl, who hadn’t played 36 minutes in a game since Dec. 1, 2024. “Every game’s a little bit different, like you have different energy and stuff. I felt good on Sunday. Felt fine afterwards. Obviously, after a big game, you feel your body aching a little bit, but I think that’s normal for everybody, so I wasn’t too worried.”
Poeltl admits the uncertain nature of his back injury presented several challenges, Grange writes.
“I think the hardest part about it was that there wasn’t a steady timeline,” he said. “With most injuries, you kind of know how long it’s gonna take, and sometimes it takes a bit longer or sometimes it takes a little less time but, generally, you know what the recovery process is.
“But what the time was exactly in this scenario was a big question mark. Like, we almost made up some timelines, kind of hoping that this would be when I would feel better again but, realistically, it wasn’t something that time was just gonna fix. So, I think that was the hardest part.”
Poeltl being healthy has given Toronto a boost at both ends of the court, but he’ll face some difficult matchups over the next few weeks, starting with Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic on Friday in Denver, Grange notes.
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles won’t play Friday, but he should return from his left thumb sprain in the near future, Grange tweets. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said the rookie forward/center, who has been scrimmaging and doing reconditioning work, is “very close” to playing again. Friday will mark Murray-Boyles’ 10th consecutive absence due to the thumb, which he originally injured in January.
- Regardless of whether he’s playing or not, Jose Alvarado brings consistent energy to the Knicks, according to Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Star point guard Jalen Brunson doesn’t take Alvarado’s impact for granted. “Absolutely, it helps the team no matter what,” Brunson said after practice Thursday. “You kind of wish he was on the court because he’s a little bit quieter than on the bench. He does so much for this team on and off the court. It’s constant energy. Kind of regardless of how he’s playing, he always has the energy. That’s a skill, that’s a skill that makes someone last in the league a long time. It’s great to have him.”
- Nets forward Noah Clowney, who suffered a right wrist sprain in Wednesday’s loss to Oklahoma City, was out for Friday’s matchup with New York and will likely miss Sunday’s contest at Sacramento as well, head coach Jordi Fernandez told reporters, including Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). Fernandez added that Clowney would be reevaluated following Sunday’s game.
- When asked whether Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. could play again this season — he’s out at least two-to-three weeks after suffering a right hamstring strain — Fernandez essentially gave a non-answer, as Lewis relays (via Twitter). “So, two or three weeks and then obviously there’s a ramp up to go back to a competition level,” Fernandez said. “We cannot predict but it’ll be close. So we’re going to go through these two, three weeks, put the work in and then we’ll see where we are.”
Atlantic Notes: Murray-Boyles, Nets, Knicks, Edgecombe
Raptors rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles has missed the team’s past eight games due to a sprained left thumb, but his return shouldn’t be far off. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link), Murray-Boyles took part in practice on Tuesday, with the club set to assess how he responds to that session before determining whether he’ll be available for Wednesday’s game in Chicago.
Even if Murray-Boyles isn’t cleared to play tomorrow, head coach Darko Rajakovic expects to have him back at some point during the upcoming five-game road trip, which begins on Wednesday and runs through next Wednesday in L.A., tweets Lewenberg.
Murray-Boyles had emerged as a key contributor for Toronto prior to the injury. He has started 18 of his last 19 outings, averaging 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 steals in 27.7 minutes per game while shooting 60.3% from the floor during that stretch.
Here are a few more items of interest from across the Atlantic:
- Eric Koreen of The Athletic wonders if this year’s Raptors are the equivalent of last season’s Pistons, a limited offensive team without enough shooting that nonetheless played a scrappy brand of basketball, exceeded expectations, ended a postseason drought, and pushed a higher seed in the first round of the playoffs.
- There are five “touch points” that will determine how quickly the Nets accelerate their rebuild, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post: How their rookies develop, where their lottery pick ends up, the results of the upcoming postseason, whether a star becomes available, and how free agency plays out.
- In a mailbag, Ian Begley of SNY.tv outlines why Knicks head coach Mike Brown is reluctant to make changes to a struggling starting five and notes that Mikal Bridges has played a key role in the club’s defensive turnaround while slumping offensively.
- With Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George all unavailable, the Sixers have won three of their last four games with young role players like VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and Justin Edwards leading the way, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. As Jones observes, Edgecombe is gaining important reps as Philadelphia’s go-to scorer, which could serve him well down the road. “I was being double-teamed against Brooklyn,” Edgecombe said, referring to Saturday’s game in which he scored 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. “I had never been doubled in my life. I guess I just have to go back and look at the film.”
Raptors Notes: Barrett, Fultz, Murray-Boyles, Jackson-Davis
RJ Barrett returned from a long injury-related layoff in late January, but the Raptors forward is just starting to get back to normal, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet. After scoring a season-high 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting in Sunday’s win over Dallas, Barrett said the lingering pain in his knee has calmed down and he’s beginning to get his conditioning back.
“That’s why a couple of weeks ago it didn’t look great,” he added. “Just got to continue to work through it.”
Barrett has been far more efficient over the last six games, averaging 21.7 points and six rebounds while connecting at 56.7% from the floor and 46.7% beyond the arc. Grange notes that he was attacking the basket repeatedly on Sunday, getting a dunk and a layup on off-ball cuts.
“I think we know what he’s capable of, we’ve seen it the last two-and-a-half years,” Scottie Barnes said. “He’s able to score the ball and help us out in that area and in different ways. Once he gets his stuff going, he’s pretty hard to guard, especially going downhill (to the rim), for himself and kicking the ball out.”
There’s more from Toronto:
- Markelle Fultz, who was recently claimed off waivers by Raptors 905, had four points and five assists in his first game with the G League club on Sunday. Sources tell Grange that Fultz was given the opportunity as an audition for Toronto’s open roster spot, which the team will be looking to fill starting March 15. Grange states that nothing has been promised to Fultz, but the former No. 1 overall pick could turn out to be a good low-cost addition late in the season.
- Collin Murray-Boyles has been ruled out for the upcoming road trip to Houston and New Orleans due to an in injured left thumb, Grange adds. Trayce Jackson-Davis won’t play on Tuesday after dislocating his left middle finger while dunking in the layup line. “I hit my finger on the rim perfectly (to dislocate it),” Jackson-Davis said. “And I looked down (at the suddenly crooked finger) and almost started laughing.”
- The Raptors’ poor record against the league’s best teams is a concern as they battle for playoff position, notes John Chidley-Hill of The Canadian Press. They’re just 1-12 at home this season when facing an opponent with a better record and have lost 14 of their last 15 games against top-10 teams. “We’ve got to figure out our fourth-quarter execution, exactly what we want to go to,” Brandon Ingram said. “I think every time we play a good team, they know exactly what they want to go to in the fourth quarter, and they do it over again and over again. The good thing is we’re in the games, but we’ve got to figure out how to finish the game.”
Raptors Notes: Walter, Mamukelashvili, CMB, Barnes, Poeltl
Ja’Kobe Walter is finding his niche with the Raptors, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The 2024 first-round pick was Baylor’s leading scorer in his lone college season, but he recognizes he needs to impact the game on the other end of the court to have a significant NBA role.
“I was always a defender, but I didn’t know I was going to be aiming towards being the main guy,” Walter told Grange. “When I got here, they were telling me that they see the length and tools that I have, and just make sure I use them all the time. When I got to Toronto is when I really started focusing and realizing that I wanted to be the stopper type guy.”
At 6’4″ and 180 pounds, Walter is on the smaller side for a shooting guard, but he has a 6’10” wingspan and is an aggressive on-ball defender, Grange notes. His swing skill will likely be his outside shot — the 21-year-old has converted 35.3% of his three-point attempts this season.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic was complimentary of Walter’s performance following Thursday’s victory in Chicago and said the second-year wing is earning the trust of his coaching staff and teammates.
“I thought he played a very good game. I thought he did an outstanding job defensively. I thought he was in the right spots on offense, took the right shots,” Rajakovic said. “There is a growing confidence inside this group that he’s ready for this challenge.”
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- A bruised rib has Sandro Mamukelashvili in a good deal of pain, but he’s determined to play through the injury because he’s eager to get his first real playoff experience, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic. “I’m mentally blocking it out,” Mamukelashvili said of his injury. “There are no issues. I’m telling myself there is nothing hurting and however many minutes I get, I’ll go out there and play like I’m a hundred percent healthy.” The 26-year-old forward/center technically made the postseason as a rookie with Milwaukee, but he was ineligible to suit up because he was on a two-way contract. Mamukelashvili has been one of the most impactful reserves in the league this season, Koreen writes, averaging 11.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists on .525/.383/.764 shooting in 55 games (22.5 minutes per contest). The Georgian big man should be in line for a substantial pay raise this summer — he holds a $2.8MM player option for 2026/27 he seems likely to decline.
- Collin Murray-Boyles has similarly been playing through a thumb injury, Koreen adds. The lottery pick is having an impressive rookie season, appearing in 45 games (22.2 MPG) and averaging 8.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.9 BPG while playing solid, switchable defense, according to Koreen. “That’s why I was drafted — to make an impact,” Murray-Boyles said when asked about the rarity of a rookie playing significant minutes for a winning team. “(I) don’t take it lightly.”
- All-Star forward Scottie Barnes was out Sunday for personal reasons, but he’s not on the injury report and is expected to return for Tuesday’s game vs. Oklahoma City, as Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca relays (Twitter links). Jakob Poeltl (lower back strain injury management) is out against the Thunder on the front end of a back-to-back — Toronto faces San Antonio on Wednesday.