{"id":609842,"date":"2026-04-17T08:31:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/609842\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T08:31:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:31:16","slug":"raptors-brandon-ingram-will-be-ready-for-torontos-first-playoff-series-since-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/609842\/","title":{"rendered":"Raptors\u2019 Brandon Ingram will \u2018be ready\u2019 for Toronto\u2019s first playoff series since 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram has waited two years to get back to the NBA playoffs. His wait ends on Saturday in Cleveland against the Cavaliers.Mark Blinch\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

After the Toronto Raptors<\/a>‘ practice on Thursday, Sandro Mamukelashvili recalled a post he made<\/a> on X, formerly Twitter, earlier in the week. <\/p>\n

The Toronto big man told \u201cTwitter Gm\u2019s\u201d to get ready for the playoffs. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a whole bunch of GMs on Twitter, and it\u2019s fun seeing their opinions,\u201d said Mamukelashvili. \u201cOne day they\u2019re ready to cut you, the next day they\u2019re ready to love you.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mamukelashvili said that the Toronto Raptors\u2019 return to the postseason will add more general managers to that infamous list. <\/p>\n

Raptors shrug off underdog status in return to NBA postseason<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou go home and you sit on your couch if you have a bad game and you try to find ways to bounce back,\u201d said Mamukelashvili, who later said he\u2019d play any of his online critics in a game of one-on-one. <\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I even go and read that stuff so I can be like, \u2018Okay next game I\u2019ll show y\u2019all who you\u2019re gonna ship away.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

Brandon Ingram takes a different approach to social media than his Raptors counterpart. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat don\u2019t really matter to me,\u201d Ingram said regarding potential doubtful online comments about his or the Raptors\u2019 abilities. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of idiots on social media.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ingram, 28, will play in his third playoff series on Saturday when he suits up against the Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30). His two previous trips to the postseason dance came during his tenure with the New Orleans Pelicans. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Ingram earned the second all-star selection of his career this year with the Raptors, helping them back into the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 season.Frank Gunn\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The Duke alum has averaged 21.9 points, five assists and 5.5 rebounds through 10 career playoff games. <\/p>\n

Ingram, whose 21.5 points per game lead the Raptors, will try to pierce through Cleveland\u2019s defence and shrug off its physicality \u2013 regardless of how many people are covering him. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen an opposing team sends two [to cover me], in the mid-range it probably won\u2019t matter,\u201d said Ingram on whether he prefers to be covered by one or two defenders. \u201cOutside on the perimeter, if they send two on me, I\u2019m able to see over the top and pick defences apart, so I think at that point it\u2019s a matter of whether we\u2019re making shots or not.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, 20, will get his first taste of playoff action. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic will lean on Murray-Boyles, Scottie Barnes and the team\u2019s other big men to go toe-to-toe with Evan Mobley and Co. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have CMB and Scottie together on the floor, we have two very diverse defensive players that can guard the bigs, that can rebound, that can be in switching situations,\u201d said Rajakovic. \u201cWe feel comfortable putting those guys to guard their best players, and we\u2019ve had a lot of success with those two guys on the court. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo see the confidence and growth of CMB gives us a lot of confidence heading into this playoff series.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Raptors clawed their way to the 2026 NBA playoffs. Here’s what you need to know<\/a><\/p>\n

Murray-Boyles came into his own this month. The rookie centre averaged nearly 13 points per game in April and notched a season-high 20 points on April 1. <\/p>\n

\u201cI expected us to be here, especially to have an opportunity to bring the organization back to a championship level,\u201d said Murray-Boyles. \u201cIt\u2019s been really encouraging to see the progress that this team has made throughout the course of the year.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ingram will be a key piece in lifting the Raptors to that level Murray-Boyles alluded to. <\/p>\n

Like his first year with the Pelicans, Ingram\u2019s debut campaign in Toronto came with an NBA all-star appearance \u2013 his 2026 selection is the second of his career. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

After a series of nagging injuries over the last few seasons, Ingram has had the healthiest campaign of his career since his rookie season with the Lakers in 2016-17.Nathan Denette\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

But there was a time when questions around his health lingered. The Kinston, N.C., product\u2019s last playoff outing in 2024 saw him average a mere 14.3 points, 3.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds \u2013 well below his 2022 playoff averages of 27 points and 6.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds. <\/p>\n

Ingram battled through a knee injury during that 2024 series. His Pelicans fell in four to the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. <\/p>\n

Last year, a sprained ankle prevented the forward from making his Raptors debut after Toronto acquired him in February, 2025. He only appeared in 18 games during the 2024-25 season, all with New Orleans.<\/p>\n

Ingram\u2019s 77 contests this season are the most since his rookie year with the Los Angeles Lakers. <\/p>\n

Ahead of Saturday, Ingram will look to play up to the 27-point-per-game standard he set for himself in 2022. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready to be effective in any way that I can be, whether that\u2019s offensively or defensively,\u201d he said. \u201cBut at some point in the game, you got to give [the ball] to your best players and let them go make a play. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be ready.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram has waited two years to get back to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,3302,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":{"0":"post-609842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-ca","15":"tag-canada","16":"tag-canada-news","17":"tag-canada-sports","18":"tag-canada-sports-news","19":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","20":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","21":"tag-canadian-news","22":"tag-economy","23":"tag-education","24":"tag-environment","25":"tag-federal-government","26":"tag-foreign-news","27":"tag-globe-and-mail","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","29":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","30":"tag-government","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-national-news","36":"tag-new-brunswick","37":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","38":"tag-northwest-territories","39":"tag-nova-scotia","40":"tag-nunavut","41":"tag-ontario","42":"tag-pei","43":"tag-photos","44":"tag-political-news","45":"tag-political-opinion","46":"tag-politics","47":"tag-politics-news","48":"tag-quebec","49":"tag-sports-news","50":"tag-technology","51":"tag-toronto","52":"tag-travel","53":"tag-trudeau","54":"tag-us-news","55":"tag-world-news","56":"tag-yukon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}