WOLSTAT: Raptors can’t stay healthy this season, but hopefully Barnes injury won’t be serious

Whenever the team seems healthy, someone else has gone down

Why can’t the Raptors have nice things?

The question has to be asked in relation to the club seemingly being unable to keep all of its best players in the lineup for long stretches this season.

Toronto fought hard against the NBA’s best team in Milwaukee on Sunday night before ultimately falling short, but the bigger picture story might have been the early exit of prized sophomore Scottie Barnes.

X-rays on his left wrist were negative, but Barnes did not return after exiting just before halftime. The hope is Barnes will be fine, but this is a team that has not been able to flourish with a healthy roster for too long before something else pops up.

The team has had to use 23 different starting lineups this season, thanks to players constantly shuffling in and out.

Key free agent signing Otto Porter Jr., expected to be a darkhorse starter option or the sixth or seventh man and a key shooter, was hurt from the jump, missing the first seven games of the season before returning for eight games prior to being lost for the year. That immediately threw the rotation off.

Toronto was able to run out its preferred group (sans Porter) for six of the first seven games before Fred VanVleet suffered his first injury of the season, costing him five of the next nine games. Fellow top player Pascal Siakam quickly joined VanVleet on the sidelines, missing 10 straight November games. Siakam had been playing some of the best basketball of his career.

Later, O.G. Anunoby got banged up, then it was Gary Trent Jr.

The initial starting group would not begin a game together again until Jan. 2 and Precious Achiuwa — who would go from important reserve to starter when Anunoby got hurt, before Jakob Poeltl was acquired — missed 24 games due to injury as well.

Barnes has actually been the most durable Raptor all season, missing only three games, none since November. But as mentioned up top, this is just the way it’s gone for the Raptors this year.

If Barnes is fine for the final 10 games of the regular season, all of this is moot. Especially with Anunoby on one of the best stretches offensively of his career, with VanVleet playing superb basketball, Poeltl giving his nightly steady efforts, Siakam still playing mostly well and with Trent finding his form on this back-to-back, which began with a home win over Minnesota.

SO CLOSE, YET AGAIN

Losing the playoff-esque dogfight with Milwaukee meant for the fifth time in a row, a chance at returning to .500 was lost. Toronto was 13-13 on Dec. 9 and has had five cracks since.

It could finally happen this week though, with Indiana and Detroit in town. The Pacers have exceeded expectations and remain in the play-in hunt, but aren’t as good as the Raptors. Detroit has been near the league’s cellar all year, though always seem to give Toronto a few problems. Free-falling Washington will be in Sunday, with potential play-in opponent Miami closing out the homestand on March 28.

STEALING THE SHOW

Toronto leads all teams in steals per game, a full steal ahead of the No. 2 team and it’s not that surprising when one takes a look at the individual stats. O.G. Anunoby is the NBA leader in steals per game, Fred VanVleet ranks third and Gary Trent Jr. tied for sixth.

VanVleet said there is not a friendly rivalry between the three where swipes are concerned, though he did crack a joke about it. “I’ve been doing it a couple years now, so, I’ll let them guys have it,” said a smiling VanVleet.

“O.G.’s always at the top of the league, those guys gamble a little bit more than I do so maybe I need to start trying to run through the passing lanes, see if I can sneak a couple more. I gotta see how many blocks they’ve given me this year, that might put me in first place, if I count the blocks and steals,” he quipped. It’s true that VanVleet often gets credited with a block on a play that easily could have been scored a steal, which lowers his average a bit. Only two point guards average more blocks than VanVleet.

AROUND THE RIM

San Antonio did the Raptors a favour in storming back from 24 points down to stun Atlanta on Sunday, but Detroit couldn’t do the same. Dwane Casey’s team led Miami after three quarters and by four late, but the Heat went on a 14-4 run to finish to win the game.

Hamilton’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points in a surprising Oklahoma City win over Phoenix on Sunday. It’s the seventh time Gilgeous-Alexander has reached at least 40, with 44 (twice) being his high. His teammate Lu Dort, of Montreal, scored 42 two Aprils ago.

Only five Canadians have ever scored 40 or more in an NBA game. Jamal Murray has the record for a Canadian with 50 and has also scored 48, 46 and 41. Andrew Wiggins has scored as many as 47, plus eight other 40 or more games; Steve Nash scored 40 or more in a game twice in his storied career.

rwolstat@postmedia.com

@WolstatSun