Gary Trent Jr. Returns to Practice, But OG Anunoby & Khem Birch Remain Out vs. Bucks

The Toronto Raptors practiced with Gary Trent Jr. on Wednesday, but OG Anunoby and Khem Birch both remain sidelined

Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Things appear to be heading in the right direction with Gary Trent Jr.'s ailing calf.

The 22-year-old guard did participate in practice for the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. It was his first practice since injured the leg on November 26 against the Indiana Pacers.

Toronto is still listing Trent as questionable ahead of Thursday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Unfortunately for the Raptors, Khem Birch and OG Anunoby continued to remain sidelined for practice and have already been ruled out for Thursday. Anunoby continues to battle a hip pointer injury that hasn't gotten any better and Birch's knee swelling has yet to dissipate.

Without the two bigs, the Raptors are certainly going to be in tough against Giannis Antetokounmpo who remains one of the toughest bigs to defend. Ideally, Toronto wants to wall off Antetokounmpo's drive to the lanes and then fly out to the perimeter to defend his kick-out passes. That's long been the game plan against the superstar forward, but without Anunoby those drives will become far more difficult to defend.

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