Toronto Raptors Top Guard to Miss Matchup vs Detroit Pistons
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Toronto Raptors Top Guard to Miss Matchup vs Detroit Pistons

Coming off an overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks Detroit Pistons take on the Toronto Raptors Friday in their second NBA Cup matchup. In addition to being in last place in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors will also be without a handful of their top players.

Last season, Toronto acquired Immanuel Quickley from the New York Knicks as part of the OG Anunoby trade. The young guard performed well when he joined the Raptors, but his first full season with the team has gotten off to a rocky start.

Quickley has played in just three games so far for the Raptors as he continues to deal with an elbow injury. The young guard will reportedly be reevaluated next week, but has already been ruled out against the Pistons. Quickley is progressing slowly toward his return, as he participated in drills during practice this week.

In the three games he has appeared in so far, Quickley has averaged 15.3 PPG and 4.0 RPG on 37.5% shooting from beyond the arc. His best individual outing was a 21 point outburst against the LA Clippers on November 9th.

With Quickley and others out for the Raptors, the Pistons have a chance to take advantage of a depleted team. The one player they have to watch out for is Gradey Dick. The former lottery pick is off to a hot start in his second year, averaging over 20 points per game entering Friday.

Detroit couldn’t take care of an injury-plagued team last game, though it took an incredible performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo to steal the win from them. Since the Raptors don’t have that kind of star power, the Pistons have a good chance to get back in the win column.