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The Toronto Raptors have placed Pascal Siakam in the league’s health and safety protocols, ruling him out for Saturday’s game against the Golden State Warriors. Siakam had come back recently from an injury that kept him out for the beginning of the regular season, but now has to go into the protocols as the league continues to see a rise in COVID-related incidents.
Siakam is the best player on the Raptors, averaging 19.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this season. He had a bad performance recently against the Knicks, but followed it up with two strong efforts against the Kings and Nets. With Siakam out, look for rookie Scottie Barnes to get more run at the power forward spot.
The Raptors were already favored in this game due to the Warriors resting most of their veteran players, but the line will probably shift a little in Golden State’s favor when this news hits. Toronto is a 7.5-point favorite according to DraftKings Sportsbook at the moment, which is down from the 9.5-point line earlier in the day.