Raptors appear to be losing Scottie Barnes to a nagging injury

Raptors appear to be losing Scottie Barnes to a nagging injury

The Toronto Raptors can’t catch a break.

Just when it seemed like the Raptors were back to full strength this season, another injury struck. This time it appears to be Scottie Barnes’ right ankle, which he twisted in an awkward collision with Karl-Anthony Towns in the third quarter against the New York Knicks on Monday night.

Barnes attempted to deflect a rebound and appeared to twist his ankle. He remained lying there writhing in pain before team medical staff helped him off the field. Unable to put pressure on the foot, Barnes limped to the locker room while supported by two Raptors teammates. He was later ruled out for the rest of the game.

The 23-year-old All-Star was just returning from a fractured eye socket he suffered in late October when Nikola Jokic accidentally elbowed him in the right eye. This forced Barnes to miss 11 games before returning late last month.

As of Monday night, Barnes was averaging 21 points, 7.8 assists and 8.7 rebounds per game in 13 appearances this season.

Without Barnes, Toronto went 2-9 earlier this year and fell to last place in the NBA standings as the organization struggled with a series of injuries throughout the roster.

The Raptors will still be without Immanuel Quickley, who continues to deal with a UCL sprain and is expected to be sidelined for a while. Quickley will have tests done this week to see how far he has progressed before the organization determines next steps.

Should Barnes be forced to miss extended playing time, the Raptors will likely push Davion Mitchell back into the starting lineup and rely on Chris Boucher to fill the void created in Toronto’s frontcourt.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *