Toronto's injury news has the same shape. Leonard warmed up before the Minnesota game, felt something off in his left knee and was scratched after a quick check with the medical staff. Raptors Republic reported an update could come as soon as Tuesday. The swelling isn't in the right knee that needed reconstructive surgery, which is about as good as knee news gets for him. In his first season back in Toronto, he'd averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals over 2 games before the scratch.
Without him, the Raptors looked like a different team in Minneapolis. The Wolves won the 3rd quarter 35-15, beat Toronto 49-34 on the boards and shot 56% in a 117-94 rout. Ja'Kobe Walter's 22 points were the bright spot. Nate Bittle has also been out with a foot injury since opening night, so Toronto is thin up front, and that showed against a big team.
Before Minnesota, Toronto looked strong: it beat Chicago 135-92 at home, then won 112-102 in Washington. Orlando's 1-2 start is harder to read. It gave up 132 at home to Atlanta, then scored just 93 against the Wolves before winning at the Garden. Both teams have had blowout losses to Minnesota and both are missing their best player for this one, so the team with the healthier rotation by Wednesday probably gets the edge.
Tipoff is 7:30 PM ET. Both teams get 2 days off after their games on the 25th, so rest doesn't favor either side. The things to watch are the Suggs MRI, the Leonard update and how many healthy forwards Orlando has left. If Kawhi plays and Suggs doesn't, Toronto at home is the clear side. If both sit, Wagner against a Raptors team that just got beaten on the glass becomes the most interesting matchup on the floor.