A Precious Achiuwa return Wednesday night for the Toronto Raptors isn’t sounding likely.
The 24-year-old forward did not take part in team activities during practice Tuesday morning, Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said. Achiwua continues to rehab from a left groin injury that kept him sidelined for Monday’s contest against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Achiuwa did do some individual activities, Rajaković said. He is “feeling better,” though there’s no firm update from the team. He had been listed as doubtful ahead of Monday’s game before eventually being ruled out.
The injury is the same one that kept Achiuwa sidelined for most of the preseason.
As for O.G. Anunoby’s cramping issue, the 26-year-old said he’s feeling good. The issue is a new one in his career, Anunoby added, but something he’d been dealing with since the start of this season.
The Raptors tried to limit Anunoby’s shifts Monday night, keeping his stints on the court limited as to not reaggravate his cramps.
The expectation is he’ll be ready to go Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Christian Koloko is the only other injury question mark for Toronto. He remains sidelined with an ongoing respiratory issue. He was seen shooting casually alongside Raptors assistant coaches during the open-to-media portion of Tuesday’s practice. There’s no timeline on his return, though.
If Achiuwa is indeed out, Toronto will once again be forced to lean on Chris Boucher and its already thin bench even further. The Raptors currently rank as the NBA’s second-worst defensive rebounding team, and they’ll need their bigs to step up and box out when the team turns to its bench.
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