TORONTO – Success within the NBA playoffs is all about changes. Who could make the mandatory tweaks to adapt their sport to what the sequence calls for?
For famend napper Brandon Ingram, which means transferring up his bedtime.
“Attempting to get within the mattress earlier in the present day,” stated Ingram after observe at Toronto’s OVO Athletic Centre. “My lady’s round so she’ll get on my nerves sufficient the place I simply need to fall asleep.”
Handing over early shall be a necessity for Ingram — and anybody else on the Raptors who likes to nap — as Toronto hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers in Recreation 4 of their opening spherical sequence at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. Cleveland leads the best-of-seven matchup 2-1.
Beginning centre Jakob Poeltl isn’t positive if the unusually early tipoff will assist or hinder both crew.
“It’d, it may not, but it surely’s the identical for each groups,” he stated. “I don’t assume it actually issues. We’ve got early video games all through the season now and again, so everyone ought to know what it looks like. I feel we’re nice.
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“It sort of adjustments the routine, clearly, as a result of all day simply sort of adjustments, however you continue to attempt to do the identical issues earlier than the sport.”
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Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic stated he scheduled Saturday’s off-day observe to line up with Sunday’s begin time to helps his gamers create a rhythm for the weekend.
“We’re giving guys 24 hours to prepare till tomorrow,” stated Rajakovic. “We’ve received to deal with issues that we’re controlling.
“These are our defensive, offensive fundamentals, our tradition. That’s the principle focus of it. There’s not a lot you are able to do concerning your physique clock.”
Toronto appeared flat in back-to-back losses to start out the sequence in Cleveland however routed the Cavaliers 126-104 in Recreation 3 on Thursday. Ingram stated it was as a result of everybody was extra aggressive on defence.
“They didn’t make as many photographs. We tried to decelerate (all-star guards) Donovan Mitchell and (James) Harden a bit bit extra,” stated Ingram. “I feel Harden nonetheless received some photographs that he wished, after all, however we simply tried to restrict Donovan Mitchell’s touches in that sport and simply make them take powerful photographs.
“Guys simply stepped up. We wanted everyone, and everyone was there.”
The Raptors introduced on Friday that Immanuel Quickley would miss the remainder of the crew’s first-round sequence. Quickley had missed the primary three video games in opposition to Cleveland with a proper hamstring pressure.
He had been progressing via escalating assessments however aggravated the harm on Thursday when doing the newest spherical of assessments.
Poeltl, who was an efficient pick-and-roll accomplice with Quickley within the common season, stated Toronto desires the purpose guard again as quickly as doable.
“He’s been considerably of a staple, at the very least with me, on the court docket, for me to play off of,” unhappy Poeltl. ” fast. However now we simply received to take advantage of what we now have. Like I stated earlier, we now have a deep crew. We’ve got a variety of crew, a variety of guys that may are available in and have an effect on this crew. So we simply received to go to the subsequent possibility.
Quickley averaged 16.4 factors and 5.9 assists in 70 begins this season. He had missed all of Toronto’s playoff video games, together with Toronto’s 126-104 Recreation 3 win, earlier than he was formally dominated out for the remainder of the sequence.
Second-year guard Ja’Kobe Walter began in Quickley’s place for Recreation 3. Jamal Shead had been within the lineup for the primary two video games of the sequence.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed April 25, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
