If there's any game on the schedule where the Toronto Raptors could ill-afford to miss starting center Jakob Poeltl, it's against the Houston Rockets — a team that makes life a living hell on the glass. They have Alperen Sengun, Steven Adams, Clint Capela, and even Amen Thompson to beat opposing teams into a pulp on the boards. That's exactly what happened on Wednesday, as not even an incredible shooting night from beyond the arc could save the Raptors from a 139-121 loss to the Rockets.

There is no other way to describe what happened to the Raptors on the boards other than “bludgeoned”. Houston hauled in 53 total rebounds, with 17 of those coming on the offensive end; on the other hand, Toronto just managed to snag 22 rebounds on the night as a team. That is a rebounding deficit that s

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