The already-shorthanded Raptors lost guard Dalano Banton to a left ankle sprain during Toronto’s 112-104 victory against the Heat last night, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Toronto head coach Nick Nurse is pessimistic about the injury, indicating that the ankle “doesn’t look too good,” per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.net (via Twitter). Nurse revealed that Banton will be undergoing tests to determine the extent of the injury.
The second-year guard out of Nebraska is averaging 6.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG and 1.1 APG for the Raptors as a reserve in just 11.2 MPG.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet made his return to the floor for Toronto in its Miami victory following a bad cold. He notes that he is continuing to test negative for COVID-19, tweets Lewenberg. “It wasn’t fun but hopefully the worst is behind me, just happy to be back,” VanVleet said.
- Sixers guard James Harden reveals that he has been progressing positively from his tendon strain, per Derek Bodner (Twitter link). Bodner notes that Harden has indicated he is “on pace” to come back to the floor in line with his initially-projected one-month rehab window. “We’ve got a plan,” Harden said, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). “We’ve got a script that we’re trying to stick to. All in all, I feel good.”
- Celtics sixth man Malcolm Brogdon looks set to suit up once again for Boston, having made significant progress in his recovery from a tight right hamstring, reports The Athletic’s Jared Weiss (Twitter link). The 6’5″ vet has not suited up for Boston since November 9.
More must-reads: