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, meaning transferring up his bedtime.
“Trying to get in the bed earlier today,” stated Ingram after follow at Toronto’s OVO Athletic Centre. “My girl’s around so she’ll get on my nerves enough where I just want to go to sleep.”
Turning in early might be a necessity for Ingram — and anybody else on the Raptors who likes to nap — as Toronto hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of their opening spherical sequence at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. Cleveland leads the best-of-seven matchup 2-1.
Starting centre Jakob Poeltl isn’t positive if the unusually early tipoff will assist or hinder both crew.
“It might, it might not, but it’s the same for both teams,” he stated. “I don’t assume it actually issues. We have early video games all through the season once in a while, so all people ought to know what it seems like. I feel we’re nice.
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“It kind of changes the routine, obviously, because all day just kind of changes, but you still try to do the same things before the game.”
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Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic stated he scheduled Saturday’s off-day follow to line up with Sunday’s start time to helps his gamers create a rhythm for the weekend.
“We’re giving guys 24 hours to get ready until tomorrow,” stated Rajakovic. “We’ve got to focus on things that we’re controlling.
“Those are our defensive, offensive fundamentals, our culture. That’s the main focus of it. There is not much you can do regarding your body clock.”
Toronto regarded flat in back-to-back losses to start the sequence in Cleveland however routed the Cavaliers 126-104 in Game 3 on Thursday. Ingram stated it was as a result of everybody was extra aggressive on defence.
“They didn’t make as many shots. We tried to slow down (all-star guards) Donovan Mitchell and (James) Harden a little bit more,” stated Ingram. “I think Harden still got some shots that he wanted, of course, but we just tried to limit Donovan Mitchell’s touches in that game and just make them take tough shots.
“Guys just stepped up. We needed everybody, and everybody 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 by escalating exams however aggravated the damage on Thursday when doing the newest spherical of exams.
Poeltl, who was an efficient pick-and-roll associate with Quickley within the common season, stated Toronto needs the purpose guard again as quickly as doable.
“He’s been somewhat of a staple, at least with me, on the court, for me to play off of,” unhappy Poeltl. ” fast. But now we simply obtained to benefit from what we have now. Like I stated earlier, we have now a deep crew. We have quite a lot of crew, quite a lot of guys that may are available in and have an effect on this crew. So we simply obtained to go to the following choice.
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 Game 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 Game 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 revealed April 25, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
