The 2026-27 NBA regular season has been everything that we could have hoped for. The only issue is that injuries are killing the vibes. Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Jaren Jackson Jr., Anthony Edwards, and some other marquee names have all already sustained serious injuries that will keep them out for a significant amount of time.
One of the star players who is dealing with injuries to start the year is Kawhi Leonard. The two-time Finals MVP missed the Toronto Raptors' first loss of the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Will he be available to help the Raptors avoid a starting a losing streak against the Orlando Magic? Here is the full injury report ahead of this game.
Kawhi Leonard will not play vs. Magic
Unfortunately, Leonard's swelling in his knee (the injury that caused him to miss the game against the Timberwolves) is going to keep him out for a few weeks. Leonard, who has become a lot more vocal in recent years, even commented on the situation on his X account:
— Kawhi Leonard (@Way2Whi) October 27, 2026
Needless to say, Leonard will not be available for tonight's game against the Magic. The NBA's official injury report (which updates every 15 minutes) has his injury listed as a left knee effusion/swelling. Nate Bittle will also be out for the Raptors, with a right foot injury.
Unfortunately for the Magic, they have been hit by the injury bug worse than pretty much every team not named the Oklahoma City Thunder or Golden State Warriors (although the Warriors already knew this was coming). Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Isaac, Noah Penda, and Izaiyah Nelson are all going to be out of this contest. Banchero and Suggs are going to be out of the rotation for weeks.
The only question mark is Anthony Black. Black has only appeared in one of the Magic's first three games. He is currently listed as questionable (personal reasons). As a general rule, when a player is given the "questionable" designation, that usually means they have a 50/50 shot at playing in the game.
Raptors projected starting lineup without Kawhi Leonard
We already say what head coach Darko Rajakovic's starting lineup and rotation looks like when he is playing without Leonard. So, we'll base our assumptions off what he did against the Timberwolves:
STARTER | POSITION | BENCH |
|---|---|---|
Immanuel Quickley | PG | Jamal Shead |
Ja'Kobe Walter | SG | Jamison Battle |
RJ Barrett | SF | Allen Graves |
Scottie Barnes | PF | Kyle Anderson |
Jakob Poeltl | C | Collin Murray-Boyles |
Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl all started when Leonard was healthy. Expect this trend to continue. Eventually, I think Collin Murray-Boyles will surpass Poeltl in the starting lineup, but there has not been anything that has happened yet that says that day should be today.
The guy replacing Leonard will be Ja'Kobe Walter. He will move to the shooting guard position, forcing Barrett to slide up to the small forward spot in place of The Klaw. Along with Murray-Boyles, Jamal Shead, Jamison Battle, Allen Graves, and Kyle Anderson will all get some tick off the bench.
For the Magic, there is a lot more unknown, as we haven't seen what it looks like with Suggs and Banchero out of the lineup (Suggs got hurt in their last game). My guess is that they will go with Jase Richardson, Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner, Tristan Da Silva, and Wendell Carter Jr. I could also see Jamal Cain starting at the forward spot along Wagner instead of Da Silva.
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