Raptors look worse for wear coming out of all-star break

TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO – There’s a reason why Nick Nurse doesn’t like to look too far ahead when making plans for his rotation. Things can change quickly in the NBA, and the Raptors’ head coach knows that better than most.

When Pascal Siakam was getting set to make his season debut back in November, Nurse had to decide who would be coming out of the starting unit – a decision that was ultimately rendered moot once OG Anunoby suffered a hip pointer in practice soon after.

A month later, as Anunoby was nearing his return, it seemed like Nurse would be faced with a similar dilemma. Instead, a team-wide COVID outbreak knocked Siakam, followed by just about everybody else, out of the lineup.

So, when the idea of tweaking the rotation came up just before last weekend’s all-star break, Nurse admitted he was considering it, but he was also reluctant to commit. The Raptors had just faced, and struggled to contain some of the league’s most dominant traditional big men, which begged the question: was it time to break up their position-less starting five, likely sending rookie Scottie Barnes to the bench, in favour of opening games with a centre, likely Khem Birch, on the floor?

It would’ve been a tough call, if he had the chance to make it. Once again, though, the decision was made for him.

Just a few hours before tip-off, Toronto announced that Anunoby would miss Friday’s game in Charlotte with a fractured right ring finger.

“I’m disappointed for him mostly because he is an important piece for us,” Nurse said of Anunoby, who’s averaging a career-best 17.5 points in his fifth NBA season. “He’s in a growing phase, he is developing as a player, and to me the sky is the limit. There are not a whole lot of guys