Jakob Poeltl's Shoulder Injury Leaves the Raptors' Paint Wide Open

Underdog NBA just dropped the news that Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl is officially listed as questionable for Monday with a shoulder injury.

This is the exact same shoulder bursitis that made him a late scratch on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers. When your starting big man gets pulled at the last second, it usually means the defensive game plan is about to get thrown into a blender.

"Underdog NBA tweeted: 'Jakob Poeltl (shoulder) listed questionable Monday.'"

We saw exactly what that looked like over the weekend. Without Poeltl anchoring the paint, the Raptors gave up 131 points in a loss to the Lakers, watching Luka Doncic casually hang 45 points and 15 rebounds on their heads. Trayce Jackson-Davis stepped into the starting five, but replacing a veteran rim protector on zero notice is like trying to patch a leaky roof with a wet paper towel.

For anyone staring at the Monday slate, Poeltl's status is the ultimate domino. He is the structural integrity of a Toronto team currently sitting at 3-3 in the East. If he sits again, you have to immediately look at the rebounding props and points in the paint for whoever Toronto is playing, because the resistance down low just evaporates.

Poeltl has already dealt with extended time off for a back injury in the past, so the Raptors are not going to rush him out there if his shoulder is barking. Playing through bursitis sounds like something a guy in a Tuesday night rec league does just to complain about it at the bar later, but in the NBA, it means you cannot physically lift your arms above your chest to contest a shot.

Keep an eye on the afternoon shootaround updates. If Poeltl is ruled out, expect Jackson-Davis to get another heavy workload, and adjust your expectations for Toronto's interior defense accordingly.