We've got bad news ahead of Toronto's last game pre All-Star break as Collin Murray-Boyles is listed as out for tomorrow's game against the Detroit Pistons due to his thumb injury. He made his return from his initial thumb contusion injury on January 28 and featured in six competitions before re-aggravating the injury on Super Bowl Sunday against the Indiana Pacers. He was able to play 8 minutes, registering 2 points and a block before the thumb injury came up yet again.
Talk about a warm welcome. If by warm we mean being thrown right into the flames. The principles of a "trial by fire," which originated during medieval times, were simple: if a person was innocent or righteous, then divine intervention would seemingly protect them through the ordeal. Unfortunately for Murray-Boyles, the basketball gods won't be steping in to help, no matter how many times he gets burned by an NBA megastar during his rookie campaign.
Cooper Flagg looked every bit like the generational talent he was billed as, meanwhile Collin-Murray Boyles was uncharacteristically passive in his debut and struggled to get his usually magnetic mitts on the ball, finishing with zero points. Alternatively Flagg ripped transition slams and step-back 3s on his way to an efficient 22 points, helping the Mavericks down the Raptors 139-129, dropping them to 1-2 on the season.
CMB nearly notched a triple-double, putting up 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists along with two blocks in 23 minutes of action. One of the biggest highlight plays from the night was when he blocked Malik Monk's three-point shot, then leaked out for the and-one dunk in transition. Brandon Ingram led all Raptors with 21 points in 23 minutes. He added 6 rebounds,
Darko's been really helpful. Obviously, I have a lot of high-level guys around me, so finding my niche isn't always easy. But everybody knows defence is what's going to get me on the floor. Being aggressive, confident, on both ends - that's what I'm focused on. They drafted me to be me, so that's the mindset I'm sticking with.
