Fans looking to catch the entirety of the Raptors' presumed starting five in action for their pre-season opener on Monday will have to wait.
Starting centre Jakob Poeltl will miss the contest against the Denver Nuggets at Rogers Arena in Vancouver due to a sore back, head coach Darko Rajakovic told reporters pre-game, per Sportsnet's Michael Grange.
Poeltl, 29, is set to enter his 10th season in the NBA after missing 25 games last year due to various injuries. It was his second consecutive injury-plagued campaign after suiting up in just 50 games the year prior.
The Austrian big man still did enough to earn himself a new deal with Toronto, however, as the two sides agreed to a four-year, $104-million extension through 2029-30.
Poeltl averaged 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds (career-high), 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks through 57 games last year. He also set career highs for field-goal attempts (10.2) and makes per game (6.4), shooting 62.7 per cent on the season. The former ninth-overall pick ranked 14th in the NBA for field-goal percentage (minimum 50 games played) and was sixth for offensive rebounds per game (3.3), cementing himself as one of the top centres around the NBA.
Meanwhile, Poeltl won't be the only Raptor missing their pre-season opener as second-year big Ulrich Chomche will be out of the lineup as he continues to deal with an undisclosed injury that's kept him out throughout training camp.
Chomche is on a two-way contract with Toronto after spending a majority of his rookie campaign with the NBA G League's Raptors 905 before partially tearing his MCL in February.
Jonathan Mogbo, also a second-year player, will step into the Raptors' starting lineup on Monday, joining Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and trade-deadline acquisition Brandon Ingram, who'll make his debut for Toronto.
