Raptors point guard Immanuel Quickley is considered questionable for Toronto's first-round playoff opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
On the eve of the Toronto Raptors’ playoff opener, the question of whether the team’s starting point guard will play in Game 1 remained unanswered.
The team announced that Immanuel Quickley was day-to-day with a mild hamstring strain earlier in the week. He sustained the injury during Toronto’s 136-101 win against the Brooklyn Nets last Sunday.
“He’s questionable at this point,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said Friday.
Should the 26-year-old be absent for Toronto’s opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers, it wouldn’t be the first time the guard has missed post-season action due to ailments.
The former Knick missed the final three games of New York’s 2023 second-round series against the Miami Heat due to a sprained ankle. The Knicks fell to the Heat in six.
Now dealing with another injury at the most important time of the year, Quickley said he attempts to use situations like these as motivation.
“I just try to look for different ways to get better and not come in here and be sad or whatever about whatever’s happening,” he said.
But as he waits for the all-clear from the medical staff, Toronto’s leading three-point marksman has one place he wants to be.
“I just want to be on the floor. It doesn’t matter, really, how injured I am, I just want to play,” Quickley said. “Not even for myself – for my teammates.”
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Jamal Shead is one of the Raptors’ young guns looking to fill Quickley’s minutes should he miss time. The second-year guard appeared in all 82 games this season, a personal goal he set for himself at the beginning of the year.
He averaged 6.6 points, 5.4 assists and 1.7 rebounds through 22.6 minutes per game. Over the season, Rajakovic noticed improvements in the young guard – notably his stamina.
“In his first year, he was really struggling when he needed to spend longer stretches in the game,” Rajakovic said. “He did an outstanding job in preparation for this year – building that capacity so he can actually withstand longer stints.
“I love when I see that Jamal is tired, that means the other team is in a problem.”
Shead’s post-season assignments will include attempting to limit the impact of Cleveland’s backcourt, which features seven-time all-star Donovan Mitchell and 11-time all-star James Harden.
Born in Austin, Tex., the 23-year-old Shead played college basketball at the University of Houston, the same city where Harden spent nine seasons with the Houston Rockets.
“I’m very familiar with him, I’ve talked to him a lot,” Shead said. “He’s one of the guys who congratulated me on getting to this level. He’s a great player, we know he’s an all-time great.”
As for containing him?
“We’ll see what we can do,” Shead said.
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In the frontcourt, Jakob Poeltl is another Raptors player who’s dealt with injuries this season.
Toronto’s lone seven-footer appeared in just 46 games, averaging 10.7 points, seven rebounds and two assists. The Austrian centre said he felt good entering the series, during which he’ll battle Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in the paint for buckets and boards.
“I felt fine toward the end of the season. In general, the less games you have to play, the better, I think,” Poeltl said about whether Toronto’s week off before the playoffs has been useful for recovery. “It gives us more time to really lock in on some scouting and stuff like that.”
The Raptors’ ninth overall selection in the 2016 NBA draft wasn’t with Toronto when the team last made the post-season four years ago. The Raptors sent Poeltl to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the 2018 trade that brought Kawhi Leonard to Toronto.
In 2023, the team reacquired the big man.
In his second stint with Toronto, Poeltl has aspirations beyond simply making the playoffs.
“It feels nice, but I don’t think this is really the time to reflect on that,” Poeltl said. “For us, we’re still on a mission. We’re trying to go places.”