Jakob Poeltl provides update on lingering back injury

Toronto Raptors centre Jakob Poeltl has provided an update on his back injury, which has caused to miss a ton of time.

The Veteran NBA centre said, “I feel good” when asked about his back. The lower-back strain has kept the 30-year-old for more than half of the season, including a 24-game stretch from mid-December to early February, returning on a minutes restriction.

“I think he’s in a good spot,” said head coach Darko Rajajovic in practice yesterday. “He’s going to carry a significant workload in this series against their bigs.”

He has also missed a couple of back-to-backs within that stretch, including one game that also saw Immanuel Quickley be sidelined with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

In the games he has played this season, Poeltl has averaged 10.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 70.0% from the field and 60% from the free-throw line.

Overall, this is great news for the Raps, considering that Poeltl and Murray-Boyles will be matched up against both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, two defensively-minded centres who have outmatched the Raps before. Throughout the season, the Raptors ranked 26th in rebounding at 41.7 per game, while Cleveland finished 11th.

It is also great because it allows the team to spread the work out a bit more and not rely on Scottie Barnes to be a bit of a Swiss army knife. This is considering that guard Immanuel Quickley remains listed as day-to-day with a mild hamstring strain, which thins the Raps at the guard spot.

Game 1 takes place this Saturday, April 18, at 1 PM ET at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

The post Jakob Poeltl provides update on lingering back injury first appeared on Raptors Republic.