If the Toronto Raptors are going to stave off elimination Friday, they’ll likely have to do it without Brandon Ingram. The All-Star forward was downgraded to doubtful for Friday’s Game 6 vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers due to a heel injury.
Ingram left the team’s Game 5 loss to the Cavaliers on Wednesday due to the injury. He finished with just one point and two assists in 11 minutes of play during the 125-120 loss.
Ingram originally sustained the injury during the regular season, missing a few games down the stretch with a heel issue. While he was able to return and play in the team’s final six games of the regular season — and first five games of the playoffs — Ingram apparently re-aggravated the injury Wednesday.
Raptors coach Darko Rajaković confirmed as much after Game 5, per ESPN.
“He re-aggravated the heel on one play. We tried to re-tape him. At halftime, he tried to activate to see if he could be ready for the second half, and he was not ready to come and play in the second half. Tomorrow we’ll know more when we do more evaluations.”
With Ingram doubtful for Game 6, the Raptors will need to lean more on Scottie Barnes, who dealt with his own injury issues coming out of Wednesday’s game. Despite injuring his quad during the contest, Barnes is reportedly available to play in Game 6.
Cavaliers-Raptors has been among the most exciting first-round playoff matchups so far. After taking an early 2-0 lead in the series, the Cavaliers dropped the next two games, tying things up. Cleveland came away with a close victory in Game 5, setting up a pivotal Game 6.
While the Raptors have shown a willingness to hang around with the Cavaliers all series, picking up a win Friday will prove difficult. Ingram was the team’s leading scorer in the regular season, averaging 21.5 points per game.
