TORONTO – Pascal Siakam could finally make his season debut next week.
The Toronto Raptors star forward has been recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but coach Nick Nurse said Siakam’s return is imminent.
“It’s getting closer every day,” Nurse said Friday before the Raptors’ game against visiting Cleveland. “Everything has worked out quite well. You have checked all the checkmarks and everything that is supposed to be, or maybe even a little further on.
Related Videos
“I imagine that maybe next week we will see him on the court. . . He has been practicing with contact for over a week. All of that has been quite brief. The practices are not long. He has also had a couple of runs with 905 (Toronto’s G League affiliate) ”.
The Raptors don’t have games on Monday and Tuesday, so Nurse said he will likely have “extended practice” at that point to assess Siakam’s readiness.
The Raptors will be in Boston on Wednesday and Philadelphia on Thursday before hosting Detroit on Nov. 13.
Siakam averaged 21.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season for Toronto.
The six-foot-eight forward participated in shooting drills during warm-up for Friday’s game.
This Canadian Press report was first published on November 5, 2021.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca