Raptors Notes: Ingram, Barnes, Barrett, Murray-Boyles
The Raptors led Game 5 in Cleveland by as many as 12 points on Wednesday, but couldn’t hang on for the victory and will head back to Toronto down 3-2 and looking to stay alive in the series. Most concerning for Toronto now is the status of two of the team’s stars heading into that do-or-die game.
As Jamal Collier of ESPN details, forward Brandon Ingram exited Wednesday’s contest in the second quarter due to right heel inflammation, an issue that bothered him near the end of the regular season, forcing him to miss three games between March 23 and April 1.
“He reaggravated the heel on one play,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic told Collier and other reporters after the loss. “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. (Thursday) we’ll know more when we do more evaluations.”
Ingram hasn’t been at his best against the Cavs in the first round, making just 19-of-58 shots from the floor (32.8%), including a dismal 14-of-45 two-pointers (31.1%). Still, he was the Raptors’ leading scorer during the regular season, and not having him on the floor to attract defensive attention limits the club’s offensive ceiling.
“We needed him out there on the floor,” Raptors forward Scottie Barnes said after Game 5. “The way they guard him, his shot-making ability when he’s out there on the floor. He makes big plays for us on the defensive end as well.”
For his part, Barnes took a shot to his quad during the second quarter on Wednesday and admitted in his post-game session that it was bothering him for the rest of the night, even though he was able to stay on the court.
“Obviously, it had some effect,” Barnes said, per Collier. “I couldn’t play with that same pace that I was trying to play with. Had a little limp out there, but I was trying to push through it, trying to win the game. I can’t do nothing about it. Just got to get some recovery, let it rest a little bit and be ready Friday.”
We have more on the Raptors:
- With Ingram struggling, RJ Barrett has led Toronto in scoring in the first round, averaging 24.4 points per game on .535/.462/.581 shooting. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca writes, Barrett has been huge for the Raptors in the series, having also taken on a wide range of defensive assignments that include guarding bigger players like Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen or scorers like James Harden and Donovan Mitchell. Both Barnes and Jamal Shead described Barrett’s playoff performance as “big-time,” with Barnes lauding his defensive versatility and Shead expressing confidence in his shot-making. “There’s not a shot that he takes in those fourth quarters that we’re like, oh, that’s not RJ’s shot,” Shead said. “We’re cool with it.”
- 2025 lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles has been a revelation for the Raptors in the playoffs, averaging 15.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game on 67.3% shooting. While Murray-Boyles was overshadowed during the regular season by rookies like Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and VJ Edgecombe, he’s proving that he’s another gem in what looks like an increasingly strong 2025 draft class, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic.
- In case you missed it, Raptors veteran swingman Garrett Temple finished fourth in Teammate of the Year voting, earning 46 first-place votes from his peers.
Cavaliers Change Starting Lineup For Game 5
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson made a change to his starting lineup for Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Raptors, replacing defensive specialist Dean Wade with Max Strus, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes in a subscriber-only story.
The move is designed to spark the Cavs’ struggling offense after they averaged just 96.5 points per game in a pair of losses at Toronto. Cleveland shot 36.8% from the field and 25% from three-point range on Sunday while squandering a late lead and allowing the Raptors to tie the series.
Strus connected at 40.2% from beyond the arc in 12 games after returning from a broken foot in mid-March, and Atkinson is impressed with his postseason track record.
“He’s got a lot of experience in the playoffs,” Atkinson said in a pre-game session with the media. “I think it’s experience, savvy, know-how, IQ, connector, all those things. They translate. Those characteristics translate into playoffs.”
Fedor notes that tonight marks the first time since December 14 that Wade hasn’t been part of the starting five when he’s healthy. He has helped to neutralize the impact of Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes through the first four games of the series, but Atkinson is more concerned about fixing the team’s offensive issues.
Fedor states that Strus should help “declutter” the offense by providing more spacing and better shooting and cutting than it had with Wade starting. Strus’ presence is expected to prevent Toronto’s defense from focusing so much attention on Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.
Strus has been up and down in the current series, posting 24, six, 15 and one points in the four games. He was a minus-16 and minus-15 in the two losses, but his coach doesn’t believe that reflects his overall value.
“I think he’s played pretty well,” Atkinson said. “I don’t judge just solely on making and missing shots. He’s an important piece to what we do.”
As Atkinson alluded to, Strus has a wealth of playoff experience, reaching the postseason every year since 2021 and holding a 36-32 record in those games. He was a starter for the Miami team that made a surprising run to the NBA Finals in 2023.
Fedor also notes that there’s value in having the 6’9″ Wade as part of the second unit because the team hasn’t done well in the minutes that Evan Mobley has played at center. Putting another big body on the court could help ease the pressure on Mobley to protect the rim and equalize the rebounding battle.
DeAndre Jordan Named 2025/26 Teammate Of The Year
Veteran center DeAndre Jordan appeared in just 12 games as a member of the Pelicans this season, but he has been named the 2025/26 Teammate of the Year, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
The Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award recognizes “the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment to his team,” per the league.
Pelicans players and interim head coach James Borrego spoke repeatedly over the course of the year about the impact that Jordan had on a young roster despite his extremely limited role.
“To see the growth of our young team, DeAndre had a massive impact on that,” Borrego said near the end of the regular season. “He brought professionalism every day. A voice every day. A respect for every drill, every practice and every moment together.”
The Teammate of the Year award isn’t voted on by media members. A panel of league executives select the 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, while current players vote on the winner. Players receive 10 points for a first place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth, and one point for fifth place.
Jordan just narrowly won this season’s vote ahead of Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday, who has won the award three times and was the last Pelicans player to claim it back in 2020. Jordan earned 66 first-place votes to Holiday’s 39, but the Blazers veteran nearly made up the difference by accumulating more second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-place votes than the big man.
Here are this season’s full voting results, according to the NBA, with the player’s point total noted in parentheses:
- DeAndre Jordan, Pelicans (1,445)
- Jrue Holiday, Trail Blazers (1,437)
- Jeff Green, Rockets (1,420)
- Garrett Temple, Raptors (1,223)
- Pat Connaughton, Hornets (672)
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks (659)
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics (651)
- De’Aaron Fox, Spurs (640)
- Duncan Robinson, Pistons (523)
- Jaylin Williams, Thunder (471)
- Desmond Bane, Magic (445)
- Marcus Smart, Lakers (424)
Jordan’s win snaps a seven-year streak of a point guard being named Teammate of the Year. From 2018-25, Holiday won it three times, Mike Conley won twice, and Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry won once apiece.
Atlantic Notes: Barnes, Pritchard, Stevens, Maxey
The Raptors won Game 4 over the Cavaliers despite missing 26 of 30 three-point attempts and shooting just 32.0% from the field. That’s a feat no team in playoff history has ever accomplished, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.
It was an anomalous victory, which makes sense, because it was led by Toronto’s anomalous star, Scottie Barnes. Barnes shot 6-for-15 from the field and 0-for-3 from three, yet he scored or assisted on 35 of the team’s 93 points and was everywhere defensively.
Barnes had an excellent season for the Raptors, getting his second All-Star nod while averaging 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, and coming in fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Despite his strong showing, he was not widely predicted to be the best player in the series. Yet through four games, he’s been exactly that, writes Michael Grange from Sportsnet.
“He’s just a winning player, man,” said teammate RJ Barrett, who has also had a strong series. “He scores, he moves the ball, he rebounds, he defends, he does everything out there. He has a killer mentality, but I think the biggest thing right now is he is playing with force, he’s really making the defence have to guard him.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Payton Pritchard scored a playoff career-high 32 points in the Celtics‘ big Game 4 win over the Sixers. He credits the work he’s put in studying how the great players in the league maximize their advantages and skill sets. “I feel like obviously there’s genetic freaks,” Pritchard said. “I’m not one of them. But, like, LeBron (James) is a perfect example, too. He takes great care of his body daily. He makes little sacrifices. He’s talked about his sleep habits, his eating and all that. But even guys like Al Horford and Jrue Holiday, they’re able to play so long because of the habits they created.” Pritchard doesn’t drink, limits his bread and sweets, and changed his sleep routine, all in the search for peak performance.
- Brad Stevens had his work cut out for him last summer after losing nearly his entire frontcourt along with Holiday. While the players and coaching staff deserve immense credit for turning what was thought to be a gap year into a 56-win season, the job Stevens did in identifying talent like Neemias Queta to bring into coach Joe Mazzulla‘s system is deserving of an Executive of the Year award, Chris Forsberg writes for NBC Sports Boston. The award will be officially announced on Tuesday at 12:00 pm Central time.
- Despite getting big man Joel Embiid back for Game 4 on Sunday, the Sixers were blown out 128-96 by Boston. Star guard Tyrese Maxey was uncharacteristically quiet in the first half, scoring seven points on just three shots. He chastised himself for his lack of aggression after the game, Brian Robb writes for MassLive. “That absolutely can’t happen,” Maxey said. “That’s just unacceptable by me. It wasn’t meant to happen that way. We can’t win basketball games with that happening, and I take full responsibility on that one.” Maxey finished with 22 points on 14 shots after attempting at least 20 field goals in each of the first three games.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Tatum, Barnes, Fernandez
After previously being listed as doubtful, Sixers‘ star big man Joel Embiid has been upgraded to questionable for Game 4 in Philadelphia on Sunday, notes Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Embiid has been working his way back from appendectomy surgery for around three weeks, with his last game action coming on April 6 in a loss to the Spurs.
The Sixers have fought hard to keep the first-round series close to this point, largely fueled by Tyrese Maxey and Game 2 heroics from VJ Edgecombe. Should Embiid be able to return, he could pose an interesting wrinkle for the Celtics, whose big man rotation has been hit-and-miss through three games.
Given the designation, Embiid will probably go through warm-ups before the final determination on his status is made, Jones writes.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Jayson Tatum hit the dagger to seal the Celtics‘ Game 3 victory over the Sixers on Friday, adding yet another accomplishment to his already-impressive return from injury. Despite his success, he still doesn’t feel fully back, Dan Gelston writes for The Associated Press. “It may not seem like it because I’m back playing, but it was a very, very long time for me not to be doing what I love to do,” Tatum said. “I can’t stress it enough, the fact that I just get to put my uniform on and run out there with the team is a win for me.” Through three games, Tatum is averaging 23.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 7.7 assists to 1.7 turnovers per game. Those are strong numbers, though, to his point, the scoring rate would be his lowest postseason average since the 2019 playoffs. He said that he’s not worried about anything other than playing his game the right way.
- Scottie Barnes followed up his Game 3 heroics with another big outing on Sunday as the Raptors won their second straight game to tie the series with the Cavaliers at two games apiece. Barnes scored 23 points along with nine rebounds, four of which were offensive, six assists, and three blocks. When asked if this was what Darko Rajakovic saw coming for his star forward, the head coach said he wasn’t satisfied yet. “No, I expect more from Scottie,” Rajakovic said. “The way he’s playing, he’s at 60% of a player that he’s gonna be in two, three years. Scottie’s gonna be one of the best players in the league, and he’s already one of the best players in the league. How much he cares about winning is pushing him forward to do whatever it takes to win a game. That’s what makes him so special.“
- After Jordi Fernandez and his coaching staff received multiyear extensions from the Nets, he gave a strong endorsement of the team he’s spent the last two years with. “I appreciate it,” Fernandez said, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “I’d sign right now to do it for the rest of my career.” With so much still in the air in terms of what the Nets will look like moving forward from a roster standpoint, having stability and security with the coaching staff represents an important anchor point for the franchise. Fernandez knows that now it’s on him to keep pushing the team forward as the Nets look to become competitive again.
Raptors Notes: Lawson, Quickley, Barrett, Battle
Raptors guard/forward A.J. Lawson has been upgraded from questionable to available ahead of Sunday’s Game 4 against Cleveland, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.
According to Murphy, head coach Darko Rajakovic said Lawson has been battling a back issue for a couple weeks and has been missing practices. However, the impending free agent will be good to go this afternoon.
Lawson played 14 minutes off the bench in Game 1, but his playing time has dwindled over the course of the first-round series — he logged five minutes in Game 2 and just two minutes in Game 3. The Cavs won both of their home games to open the series, but the Raptors bounced back with their own home victory in Game 3.
Here’s more from Toronto:
- Starting point guard Immanuel Quickley was ruled out for the rest of the series on Friday after aggravating a right hamstring injury. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Quickley re-injured his hamstring when he was doing on-court drills on Thursday. There’s no official timeline for the 26-year-old’s return.
- RJ Barrett played a huge role in helping the Raptors win Game 3, recording 33 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in 39 minutes. Brandon Ingram praised his teammate’s mentality on Saturday, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter video link). “His name has been everywhere (in trade rumors) this year,” Ingram said of Barrett. “His name hasn’t been brought up a lot on the positive side. His mindset is to prove to people that he belongs on this floor.”
- In a video for TSN.ca, Lewenberg and analyst Jack Armstrong consider whether second-year forward Jamison Battle could emerge as a trusted shooter off the bench with Quickley sidelined. The 24-year-old only received three combined minutes in the first two games of the series, but he was a significant contributor in Game 3, converting all five of his field goal attempts — including four three-pointers — en route to 14 points in 16 minutes.
Raptors Notes: Barnes, Barrett, Murray-Boyles, Battle
The Raptors’ Game 3 victory over the Cavaliers was powered by a masterpiece from Scottie Barnes, Eric Koreen writes for The Athletic. Barnes scored 33 points and added 11 assists with only one turnover as Toronto cruised to a 126-104 victory to prevent the Cavs from taking a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
“What he does is just so special,” said teammate Jamison Battle. “We have to play to that level every single night just because our leader is doing it. That’s what you want from your leader.”
The performance was even more impressive given the absence of Immanuel Quickley, who has since been ruled out for the remainder of the series with a hamstring injury, and the ongoing struggles of Brandon Ingram, who scored just 12 points on Thursday.
We have more on the Raptors:
- Also critical in the Game 3 victory was Canadian native RJ Barrett, who was thrilled to be playing his first playoff game in his home country, Michael Grange writes for Sportsnet. Like Barnes, Barrett had 33 points along with five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and six made threes on eight attempts. “He’s destroying that narrative that people think about him,” Barnes said after the game. “He’s helping our team out so much. He’s unbelievable, doing a great job scoring, playing defense, talking, being a leader on the floor. RJ is amazing.”
- Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles saved one of his best performances of the season for when it was most needed, contributing 22 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench. In doing so, he showed how important he is to the franchise in both the short- and long-term, Josh Lewenberg writes for TSN. The Raptors needed to nail their lottery pick in the 2025 draft, and it increasingly seems that they did just that.
- There were plenty of Game 3 heroes for the Raptors, both likely and unlikely. Battle is an example of the latter after he had played little more than garbage time in Games 1 and 2 heading into the must-win contest, Kai Gammage writes for Sportsnet. Battle finished the night with 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting from three. He put Toronto ahead early in the fourth quarter with a trio of triples that helped create the momentum the team would ride all the way to the victory.
Immanuel Quickley Ruled Out For Remainer Of First Round
Immanuel Quickley has been ruled out for the rest of the Raptors‘ first-round series against the Cavaliers, the team announced (Twitter link via Marc Stein).
Quickley missed the first three games of the playoffs due to a right hamstring injury. According to the team, he re-injured that hamstring during the course of his ramp-up process.
The Raptors’ release doesn’t provide a timetable for Quickley’s recovery or indicate whether he might return if the Raptors win the series, which they currently trail 2-1. The club simply states that his status will be updated “as appropriate.”
After an injury plagued 2024/25 campaign, Quickley played 70 games this season, averaging 16.4 points and 5.9 assists per contest. In his absence, Jamal Shead has started two playoff games, while Ja’Kobe Walter started Game 3, a 126-104 victory.
It’s unclear who will start in Quickley’s place moving forward, with Shead, Walter, and rookie Collin Murray-Boyles all potentially in the mix. Murray-Boyles was very effective in Game 3, scoring 22 points and adding eight rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench.
Injury Notes: Gordon, Quickley, Durant, Reaves, Lillard, LaRavia
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon will miss Game 3 against the Wolves on Thursday due to a calf injury, as first reported by NBA insider Chris Haynes (via Twitter). With the series tied at one game apiece, Gordon’s absence is significant, especially with breakout reserve forward Peyton Watson still working his way back from a hamstring injury that will cause him to miss Game 3 as well.
Gordon played 37 minutes in Denver’s five-point loss to the Wolves on Monday, and while he posted a modest stat line, his defense on Julius Randle and his offensive versatility are a major part of the Nuggets’ game plan.
The injury is being described as left calf tightness. Gordon had previously been listed as probable before being downgraded to questionable earlier today.
We have more injury news from around the playoffs:
- Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley will remain sidelined for Game 3 of the team’s series vs. Cleveland on Thursday, Josh Lewenberg of TSN notes (via Twitter). Quickley missed each of the first two games of the series due to a hamstring injury that has kept him on the shelf since April 12. Jamal Shead started each of those two games in his place.
- Kevin Durant is being listed as questionable for the Rockets‘ Game 3 against the Lakers due to a left ankle sprain, Jovan Buha notes (via Twitter). This is seemingly unrelated to the knee injury that sidelined the veteran for Game 1. Durant played 41 minutes in Game 2 and struggled against the Lakers’ constant double-teams, amassing nine turnovers to four assists.
- The Lakers could see more reinforcements on the way soon, as Austin Reaves has been upgraded to questionable, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). Reaves was expected to be out for four to six weeks due to his left oblique strain, but if he’s able to play in Game 3, he’d be back at around three weeks.
- After the Trail Blazers posted a video of Damian Lillard getting shots up, there were questions about whether the star guard could return from his ruptured Achilles tendon during this year’s playoffs. Head coach Tiago Splitter didn’t rule out the possibility completely, but he did say it was unlikely, according to Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (Twitter link). When asked specifically about the return, Splitter gave a two-word response: “Probably not.”
- Jake LaRavia is day-to-day with a low-grade ankle sprain, according to Lakers coach JJ Redick, via Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). LaRavia went scoreless in 16 minutes in Game 2 against the Rockets after scoring six points in 18 minutes in Game 1. The 6’7″ forward played all 82 regular season games this season for Los Angeles.
Eastern Notes: Bulls, Lloyd, Mazzulla, Tatum, More
Among the known candidates for the Bulls‘ open head of basketball operations job, Timberwolves general manager Matt Lloyd is the “obvious frontrunner,” reports Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune (subscription required).
Lloyd has been a “top target” for the Bulls since they began their front office search, according to Poe, who writes that the veteran executive “cares deeply about the process of evaluating, acquiring and developing talent.” That should make him an obvious fit for a Chicago team that seems to be embarking on a rebuild, Poe adds.
Outside of his strengths as a front office executive, Lloyd – who grew up in the Chicago suburbs – is a match for the Bulls due to his existing connection to the franchise and the city. He worked for the organization beginning in 1994 as a game-day and special projects employee in the team’s video room and was later hired to work in the media relations department. Eventually, he made the move to the Bulls’ front office, where he was eventually promoted to the role of director of college scouting before leaving for a job in Orlando in 2012.
While the Reinsdorfs have vowed to cast a wider net in their search for a top basketball executive this time around, they have a history of not straying too far from what they know, Poe observes.
We have more from around the Eastern Conference:
- A Coach of the Year finalist, Joe Mazzulla has made it clear he believes it’s a “stupid award,” but the Celtics‘ head coach wouldn’t oppose an alternative that honors more than one person on a team’s staff. “I would like to see that changed to staff or organization, for sure. I think those things are important,” Mazzulla said, per Jay King of The Athletic. “If it was Staff of the Year, it’s different, (or) if it’s Organization of the Year. But at the end of the day, I haven’t made one basket all year. Our staff hasn’t made a basket. We haven’t got a block. We haven’t ran back on defense. We didn’t play a back-to-back. We didn’t have to play hurt. We haven’t really done s–t. So if you don’t have the guys you know to be able to put you in position, it doesn’t really matter.”
- Celtics forward Jayson Tatum scored 25 points in the team’s Game 1 blowout of Philadelphia on Sunday, but he admitted after that win that he’s “still rehabbing” from the Achilles tear that sidelined him until March 6. Tuesday’s Game 2 loss provided a reminder of that, writes Steve Buckley of The Athletic. Although Tatum nearly had a triple-double (19 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists), he made just 8-of-19 shots from the field and has now hit only 3-of-15 three-pointers in the series.
- Signing head coach Jordi Fernandez to a contract extension increasing the pressure on general manager Sean Marks in Brooklyn, according to C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News (subscription required). As Holmes outlines, the extension suggests that Marks believes the Nets have the right coaching staff in place, which means he now needs to get Fernandez the right players to lead the team back to the playoffs.
- With Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes squaring off in the first round of the playoffs, Eric Koreen of The Athletic takes a look at how both players have progressed since being drafted back-to-back in 2021, noting that Mobley and Barnes have shown they’re capable of being foundational players on good teams, though it remains to be seen whether either one is headed for superstardom.