PHILADELPHIA _ As if things haven't gone bad enough the past two games for the Toronto Raptors, on Saturday they announced that power forward Pascal Siakam is doubtful for Sunday's Game 4 with the 76ers due to a right calf contusion.
The Sixers lead the Eastern Conference semifinal series 2 games to 1, after winning the last two.
The 6-foot-9 Siakam has been the Raptors second-leading scorer in the first three games, averaging 23.3 points. He suffered the injury sometime during Thursday's 116-95 loss to the Sixers in Game 3.
Siakam says he isn't sure how the injury occurred.
"There was a lot of contact during the game, I don't know exactly when it happened," he said before the Raptors practice on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. "After the game I was just really sore and I think, kind of like calmed down a little bit and then I felt really sore."
Siakam was asked if he hurt himself when he tripped Joel Embiid and earned a Flagrant 1 foul with 10 minutes and 5 seconds left.
"Not sure," he said. "Once again I think there was a lot on the block, I fell really bad the play after, there was a lot of contact, I was on the floor a lot so I don't know exactly."
Siakam left the game for good with 9:37 remaining and the Raptors trailing, 98-82.
He was asked if he thought he could play on Sunday.
"I haven't really done much until now, so I probably will see what I can do today," said Siakam, who said it was still feeling sore on Saturday.
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said the team has no choice but to have a positive attitude if Siakam can't play.
"Next guy up," Lowry said. "We got to step up. I got to step up way more than I have been that will be the challenge for us, everyone steps up even more."
Raptors coach Nick Nurse had the same attitude.
"We've got to plug in what we got and probably introduce somebody in the series who hasn't played yet."
With Toronto forward OG Anunoby out while recovering from an appendectomy, the Raptors don't have a lot of size on the bench. There is 6-10 Serge Ibaka, but he has been backing up starting center Marc Gasol.
Toronto could go with a smaller lineup, according to Nurse, and insert 6-0 guard Fred VanVleet as a starter.
"We have done that a lot with Fred and really enjoyed great pace and ball movement and that may be something to spark us a little bit," Nurse said.
Nurse then went through other potential candidates.
"We could go with Norm, Serge possibly, and again none of it is ideal matchup-wise, those would be the guys who have been playing," Nurse said, referring to 6-4 swingman Norman Powell. "We have started (6-7) Patrick McCaw in these scenarios, at least once, and that could be an option to keep the rotations similar, we will see."
At Sixers practice, coach Brett Brown was candid when asked if it matters from his perspective if Siakam doesn't play.
"Yes for sure," Brown said. "Without getting into granular stuff, I don't place much weight in that. I don't get caught up into it actually could happen at all. I think about if it did happen, what does that really mean."
Brown knows from first-hand experience that a player being listed as doubtful doesn't mean he won't play. Twice during this year's playoffs Sixers center Joel Embiid played after being listed as doubtful.
"This stuff is such common-place noise that it is hard to know what could be and what might not be and we have experienced it ourselves," Brown said.
Siakam has been an iron-man for the Raptors. Now in his third season, he has missed a total of just three games the past two years.
"I feel like the team can always count on me to be out there every single night," Siakam said, "but things happen."
