The Toronto Raptors will be down a big man when they face the Boston Celtics on Saturday.
Starting centre Jakob Poeltl is out as the Raptors play their divisional contest due to lower back injury management, head coach Darko Rajakovic said.
Meanwhile, Celtics star Jaylen Brown is out due to illness.
Poeltl also missed Thursday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks. He has played in just 20 of 28 games as he manages the ailment.
The Austrian big man suffered the initial injury on Oct. 27, when he exited a game early against the San Antonio Spurs and missed the two subsequent games.
The issue has slowed down his production this season, holding him to averages of 10.1 points, eight rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game while playing 26.2 minutes a night.
Also out for the Raptors on Saturday is RJ Barrett, who has been sidelined with a right knee sprain since Nov. 23. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection last week and has been participating in return-to-play activities this week.
The Mississauga, Ont., native had a strong start to his season before the injury, averaging 19.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 30.9 minutes in 17 games.
Brown, 29, has scored at least 30 points in his past five games, including hitting that number on the dot in a win over the Raptors earlier in December.
For the season, the Cal product is averaging 29.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and five assists per contest.
