OG Anunoby out indefinitely with hip pointer

Toronto Raptors F OG Anunoby has been ruled out for Thursday’s game vs. the Utah Jazz and is expected to be out indefinitely. Coach Nick Nurse told reporters on Thursday morning it “could be a while” before OG is ready to return. He’s dealing with a hip pointer. The Raptors will also be without Precious Achiuwa due to a shoulder injury, while Chris Boucher is going to be active against Utah.

Anunoby was averaging around 20 points and 5 boards per game before being injured. He was among the candidates for Most Improved Player heading into the season. As of now, he’s at 30/1 to win the award and this injury should put to rest his case considering the other candidates in the field. The Raptors got off to a strong start to the season, but are reeling lately, losing five of their past six games.

As is tradition, Nurse has been using very tight rotations. Last game in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Raptors played six players double-digit minutes and four of five starters played 40+ minutes. That just isn’t going to cut it night in and night out. So Boucher should jump into the rotation, and even the starting lineup, in place of OG. Khem Birch, Svi Mykhailiuk and Malachi Flynn are the other bench players who could see more time with Anunoby out.