Precious Achiuwa Nearing a Return for Raptors
Precious Achiuwa appears to be on the mend.
The 24-year-old Toronto Raptors forward took part in a full practice Tuesday and is nearing a return ahead of Wednesday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. He’ll participate in shootaround Wednesday and see how he feels before getting the final go-ahead to return, Raptors coach Darko Rajaković told reporters Tuesday.
Achiuwa has missed four straight games with a left groin strain he suffered on Oct. 28 against the Philadelphia 76ers. It was a reaggravation of the same injury that had him sidelined for most of the preseason last month.
Toronto will likely take it slow with Achiuwa when he first returns but he’s expected to slot back into the rotation as one of the team’s top options off the bench. With the emergence of Otto Porter Jr. for the Raptors, Toronto will likely run a bench rotation headlined by Gary Trent Jr. Gradey Dick, Malachi Flynn, Achiuwa, and Porter with Jalen McDaniels and Chris Boucher the next up should injuries arise.
It’s a big year for Achiuwa who is looking to bounce back after a disappointing season last year. He’s heading into restricted free agency this summer and needs to prove he can be at least a high-end rotation player in the NBA. He looked impressive in his first game of the year with eight points and eight rebounds but struggled in the next two before suffering the injury.
Toronto will continue to be without Christian Koloko who continues to battle an ongoing respiratory issue he’s had since at least Summer League in July.
