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Tim BontempsESPN
PHILADELPHIA — Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse said guard Gary Trent Jr. and forwards Scottie Barnes and Thaddeus Young are unlikely to play in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I mean, listen, it doesn’t look good for any of those guys,” Nurse said after Sunday’s practice at Temple University. “They’re all going to be listed as probably doubtful, so it doesn’t look good for any of them. We’ll evaluate them as we go and see where we end up.”
Game 2 is Monday night in Philadelphia.
Barnes, one of the favorites to win the Rookie of the Year award, suffered a left ankle sprain when the Sixers’ Joel Embiid accidentally stepped on his foot in the fourth quarter of Game 1 on Saturday. Young, meanwhile, sprained his left thumb in the second quarter and left the game.
Barnes was not at practice Sunday; Young was, wearing a wrap on his thumb. Both players had MRIs earlier Sunday, and the team is awaiting results.
Trent also wasn’t there, as he missed practice with a non-COVID illness that Nurse said had been impacting the guard for the past week. Trent struggled in Game 1, going 2-for-11 in 26 minutes, and Nurse credited him for being willing to play through it.
All of this only adds to the difficulty of the situation Toronto finds itself in, with both Nurse and All-Star guard Fred VanVleet saying the Raptors had been thoroughly outplayed by the 76ers.
But after Toronto played through injuries to key players all season, Nurse said he believes his team can do so again.
“It’s not unlike a lot of regular-season situations this year,” Nurse said. You’re going in with a game plan trying to figure out what it looks like with a certain group of guys and how it may change with another group guys, and what you’re capable of doing. We’re just going to have to be a little fluid with what we’re doing.
“I thought what we had planned was good last night, and we would stick with a lot of that. It just has to get executed a lot better. That would be my thought, as of now.”