The Toronto Raptors will be without Gary Trent Jr., Chris Boucher, Paul Watson and Jalen Harris when they take on the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday night.
Trent Jr. remains out with a leg contusion, while Boucher and Watson are both dealing with knee injuries. Harris has a right hip pointer.
Boucher suffered an MCL sprain against the Nets on April 21. When asked Monday when he expects the centre back in the lineup, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said he didn’t expect Boucher back “anytime soon.”
The Raptors will miss both Boucher and Trent Jr.’s production off the bench. Boucher has had a breakout season averaging 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, while Trent Jr. has averaged 15.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game with Toronto since he joined the team on March 25.
Toronto is in the midst of a three-horse race for the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference, the final team to get in the NBA’s new play-in tournament. Both the Raptors and the Chicago Bulls sit just one game back of the current No. 10 seed, the Washington Wizards.
Unfortunately for the Raptors, they are about to embark on the toughest stretch of their schedule. After the Nets on Tuesday night, Toronto will head on a brutal Western Conference road trip that will see them take on the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
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