As the Toronto Raptors look to bounce back on the second night of a back-to-back, they may be welcoming some reinforcements.
Starting centre Jakob Poeltl is in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Brooklyn Nets, the team announced before tip-off.
Poeltl has missed the team's last two contests due to a lingering back injury.
The Raptors are coming off a 112-96 loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday, in which Poeltl's absence was certainly felt. Toronto was outrebounded 55-37 and gave up 17 offensive boards for 23 second-chance points.
Poeltl entered the weekend with a probable designation, but was downgraded to doubtful on Saturday morning before ultimately being ruled out against Boston.
Before losing to the Celtics, Rajakovic described Poeltl's ongoing back injury — causing him to miss nine games already this season — as "unpredictable."
The bench boss did add, however, that he believes "it's not that serious" and that the Austrian big man should be back to his usual availability sooner rather than later.
Poeltl's production has seen a dip this season amid the back concerns, averaging 10.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists through 20 appearances. All of which came on the heels of a career-best season in 2024-25, which earned the 30-year-old a three-year, $84 million extension in the off-season.
Meanwhile, the Raptors will be without RJ Barrett as the starting guard will miss his 13th consecutive game due to a right-knee sprain suffered on Nov. 23 against the Nets. Also missing Sunday's contest will be Jonathan Mogbo, who's with two-way players A.J. Lawson, Alijah Martin and Chucky Hepburn in Orlando for the NBA G League showcase, representing the Raptors 905, Toronto's affiliate team.
Toronto enters the Atlantic Division matchup against Brooklyn with a 17-12 record, sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference.
