The Toronto Raptors have already spent the first two months of the 2019-20 season weathering injuries to key players. Now, center Marc Gasol will miss “a period of weeks” due to a left hamstring injury that he sustained during Wednesday's win over the Detroit Pistons, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol will miss a period of weeks with a left hamstring injury, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 19, 2019
Gasol started each of Toronto's first 27 games this year, with his absence likely to pave the way for Serge Ibaka to enter the starting five in the frontcourt alongside Pascal Siakam.
Now in his first full season with the Raptors, Gasol is on pace to set a new career low in scoring at 6.6 points per game, playing 28.2 minutes on a nightly basis, which is also on pace for a career low. It has been a rough go of it offensively for Gasol, who has shot just 36.4 percent from the field on the season, yet he remains integral to the team's defensive gameplan.
The 35-year-old is in the final year of his deal, having been acquired in a swap with Memphis back in February.
After injuries sidelined both Ibaka and point guard Kyle Lowry during November, the Raptors managed to stay afloat and currently hold first place in the Atlantic Division with a 19-8 mark, which is good for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
The team will once again look to stay afloat without a key starter, as Gasol now joins Fred VanVleet on the sidelines for the foreseeable future. His next chance at suiting up comes once the calendar flips to 2020.
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