Toronto’s Reggie Evans is rebounding better than anyone in the NBA — he is grabbing 26 percent of the available rebounds when he is on the floor (Kevin Love is second at 23.4 percent). Evans is getting better than one in four rebounds. It was that presence inside that has allowed Andrea Bargnani to do whatever it is that he does out on the perimeter.
Make that, Evans was one of the better rebounders.
Reggie Evans has broken his foot and he will be out for an extended period of time, according to the Toronto Sun (no timetable has been set as scans are still taking place and specialists are still being consulted). He broke it in third quarter of the loss to the Celtics Friday night.
Amir Johnson will get the start, and he’s played well this season. He’s a good rebounder, just not the beast on the boards Evans is. Johnson does bring a little more offensive punch to the starting lineup.
But the Raptors are not exactly a deep team up front, and this will certainly hurt them there.
Also, Evans had emerged as a locker room leader. As The Score’s Holly MacKenzie noted, it was Evans that called a team meeting after the Raptors got smoked by Washington, then they went on a four-game winning streak after the game. More than the rebounds, that may even be harder to replace.