Scottie Barnes "Looking Pretty Good"; Status For Game 3

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says Scottie Barnes is a "maybe" for Game 3 of their series with the Philadelphia 76ers tonight. The Rookie of the Year candidate actually had his walking boot off, and took part in shootaround this morning. 

"He looks like he's doing pretty good, he's recovering nicely."

Barnes suffered an ugly-looking sprained ankle in Game 1, when Sixers behemoth center Joel Embiid stepped on his foot. He'd been in a walking boot since then, until this morning. NBA Injury expert Dr. Brian Sutterer had said two days ago that if Barnes is able to get out of the walking boot by Wednesday, there's "a good chance he'd be able to play in Game 4" on Saturday. 

Nurse addressed other injury updates as well, saying that Gary Trent Jr., who's been suffering from a non-Covid illness, will play. "We'll see how he's going... The biggest thing that's affecting him is just being able to breath, and catch his wind."

Thad Young, suffering from a hyperextended thumb, also occurring in Game 1, "looks OK... I imagine he'll be in the mix a little bit more tonight," said Nurse. Young was only able to play eight minutes in Game 2. 

The Sixers lead the series 2-0 after two dominating performances from Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The Raptors hope the raucus Scotiabank Centre crowd helps give them a boost tonight. Philly, meanwhile, will be without supreme perimeter defender Matisse Thybulle, who is ineligible to play in the game due to not being fully vaccinated.