Raptors’ Collin Murray-Boyles day-to-day with forearm strain

The Toronto Raptors will be without their prized lottery pick for their final preseason game and potentially the start of the season.

Collin Murray-Boyles, drafted ninth overall in this summer’s NBA draft, won’t play against the Brooklyn Nets Friday and is day-to-day with a right forearm muscle strain, head coach Darko Rajaković told reporters Friday.

The 19-year-old rookie is expected back soon, Rajaković told Raptors Republic.

Murray Boyles is averaging 6.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists over three preseason games. Yet his impact has jumped off the screen far more than the numbers indicated, particularly on the defensive end.

The six-foot-seven forward has been slotting in alongside Jamal Shead, Ochai Agbaji, Gradey Dick and Sandro Mamukelashvili in the Raptors second unit throughout camp and the preseason. Ja’Kobe Walter has also been seeing some reps with this group.

Louis Zatzman previewed Murray-Boyles upcoming rookie season.

Murray-Boyles combines strength and speed like few players in the league. Plenty of youths and guards are as twitchy fast, and plenty of bigs and vets are as strong, but he has both. On Defence in college and Summer League, Murray Boyles could meet players in the lane, no matter their size, without moving. His court coverage was elite at that size. Offensively, he can take contact on his lower body and still turn shot attempts into layups. (Compare that to current or former Raptor bigs like Jonathan Mogbo or Chris Boucher, who fade away at the rim given even minimal contact on the ground, and it’s easy to see how strength can manifest.) His wingspan is 6.25 inches longer than his height, which is the third-longest margin among all rookies this year. 

Also watch Samson Folk’s most recent film breakdown of Murray-Boyles here: