Report: Scottie Barnes to miss “several weeks” with right ankle injury
Darko Rajakovic told assembled media after the Toronto Raptors’ game against the New York Knicks that Scottie Barnes’ X-rays came back negative. But that doesn’t mean he’ll get off free and clear.
Barnes came down awkwardly on his ankle, which was already flexed, after challenging Karl-Anthony Towns midway through the game. The Raptors went on to lose the game, but the loss of Barnes is arguably more significant. He held his ankle in pain afterwards and couldn’t put weight on it as he was helped to the locker room. The next day at practice, he was in a walking boot.
Meanwhile, the team announces that he’ll be reevaluated in “one week.” It’s possible that Shams Charania had slightly more critical framing than Toronto insiders, but it’s likely that the Raptors will play it safe with Barnes’ injury, so the two reports aren’t necessarily in conflict.
One season after becoming a first-time All Star, Barnes is missing much of what could have been a breakout year to injury. He already missed several weeks with an orbital fracture after taking an elbow from Nikola Jokic. Barnes is setting career highs in points, rebounds, and assists, averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. While his efficiency has been down somewhat, his 3-point stroke has been trending upwards in recent weeks, and his defence has been miraculous. As he settled into his role, Barnes had only been playing better and better. Now he’ll need to repeat the process again in several weeks.
Without Barnes, the Raptors will be left thin in virtually every area. Toronto was starting Davion Mitchell at point guard when Barnes was hurt, and Barnes displaced him from the starting lineup shortly after returning, so it’s a good bet Mitchell will return to the starting group. His defence is immaculate, but Toronto’s offence will be hard-pressed to reproduce Barnes’ offerings in the aggregate. And even though Mitchell is a strong defender, Barnes has been the only player capable of driving strong team defence so far this year.
Toronto has had a negative-5.4 net rating with Barnes on the bench so far this year, and the team defensive rating with Barnes sitting has been a ghastly 117.0, the highest off-court mark on the Raptors. They simply haven’t been able to cobble together a strong defence without his size in the gaps, his size at the rim, his rebounding, his event creation, and his quarterbacking. The Raptors will be back to the drawing board in terms of figuring out how to win. At least they’ve spent time figuring that out, without Barnes, already this year.
The Raptors play next on December 12 against the Miami Heat.
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