NBA
Raptors Head Coach Nick Nurse Said He Expects O.G. Anunoby And Gary Trent Jr. Back Tomorrow Vs New Orleans
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated22 Feb 2023
Coming out of the all-star break the Toronto Raptors would have the last spots in the East’s play-in tournament if the season ended today. They have a 28-31 record so far and that is tenth in the Eastern Conference. Rumblings of head coach Nick Nurse losing the the locker room were reported before the trade deadline, but the team didn’t trade away major pieces. Nurse reported that he expects O.G. Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. back tomorrow vs the Pelicans.
The Raptors currently have the fifth hardest remaining schedule left in the NBA. Toronto will come out of the all-star break with a two-game win streak and having won six of their last ten. Adding Jakob Poeltl at center filled the huge void that the Raptors had been missing for multiple years now.
They currently have 23 games left in the regular season and are four games out of seventh place in the East. NBA betting sites have the Raptors at (+15000) to win the Finals this season.
Anunoby, Trent and Thad Young all participated in the Raptors’ evening practice today. Per Nurse, they all looked “good, healthy and ready to go.” He expects them all to play Thursday vs New Orleans.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) February 21, 2023
Raptors expect to have their full roster back for their game vs New Orleans tomorrow
Nick Nurse is going to have to make some changes to the starting lineup tomorrow if he does indeed have all his players back. The new starting five for Toronto will likely be Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakm, O.G. Anunoby, and Jakob Poeltl.
That would push Gary Trent Jr. to the bench, but he could still be effective in that spot for the Raptors. However, he may want a larger role next season and could head into free agency. He’s started in 40 of the 50 games he’s played in for the team this season.
Trent Jr. is averaging a career-high (18.6) points per game along with (2.6) rebounds, (1.6) assists, and (1.7) steals per game. He plays strong defense for the Raptors and has also been enjoying a career-best season offensively as well.
