TORONTO — One of the best factor you possibly can say about what might be a reasonably nasty ankle sprain for Toronto Raptors ahead Scottie Barnes is that the timing might have been worse.
How lengthy Barnes will finally be out for is tough to know at this stage, pending medical imaging and all the remainder of it. He had X-rays at Scotiabank Area after leaving what ended up being a 113-108 loss to the visiting New York Knicks early within the third quarter, however they have been damaging. He might be additional evaluated Tuesday.
However no matter time away from motion the damage finally ends up costing him might be offset by it coming simply because the Raptors are getting into the lightest stretch of their schedule because of the pause supplied by the NBA Cup. The Raptors, who didn’t qualify for the single-elimination part of the match, solely have two video games to play within the area of 9 days.
Whether or not Barnes has suffered a comparatively delicate sprain or one thing extra vital, his time away from work — and he’s already missed 11 video games this season with a fractured orbital bone — might be rather less as a result of the Raptors merely have fewer video games to play within the brief time period.
In fact that gained’t matter an excessive amount of if Barnes’ damage is extra extreme and he’s out a month or six weeks or extra, but it surely’s one thing.
With the Raptors, it’s one other factor. Already this season — which is simply seven weeks previous — they’ve needed to navigate vital time misplaced to damage by 4 of their 5 starters and several other of their key rotation gamers.
Barnes injured himself when he jumped to dam a shot by Knicks centre Karl-Anthony Cities and his proper foot appeared to catch the sting of City’s foot on the best way down. Barnes was just a little off steadiness so extra of his weight got here down on his proper aspect additionally. It definitely had all of the substances for a nasty sprain, put it that approach.
To their credit score, the Raptors didn’t let the Barnes damage derail their effort. The Raptors have been main the high-scoring Knicks by 4 when Barnes left the sport with 6:47 remaining within the third quarter and appeared to have the momentum. Barnes had hit a pair of triples and had 15 factors and 5 rebounds earlier than he went down in apparent ache and needed to be helped off the ground earlier than hopping on his left foot down the tunnel and into the Raptors locker room.
“I by no means query why this occurs,” mentioned Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “These kinds of accidents, they’re out of our management, and I’m not questioning something there. We simply should undergo it and it’s yet another.”
The Raptors didn’t use Barnes’s damage as an excuse to let down and led 86-83 to begin the fourth quarter. Particularly, RJ Barrett stored the strain up on his approach to one other huge night time at Scotiabank Area and the Raptors wing ended up with 30 factors, eight rebounds and 4 assists in his first sport towards his previous staff in his dwelling area.
Barrett was front-and-centre because the Raptors pushed the Knicks to the wire. He tied the rating with a finger roll with 4:11 left, drove the lane and located Davion Mitchell within the nook for a 3 and sprinted out in transition to tie the sport with a quick break lay-up by way of a crowd of Knicks with 42 seconds left. However that was the Raptors’ final bucket.
The Knicks scored on a nifty inbounds play after a timeout that ended with a Cities lay-up arrange by Jalen Brunson. Barrett was blocked on the rim by former Raptor OG Anunoby earlier than Cities iced the sport with a deep three with six seconds left to place the Knicks up by 5, the profitable margin.
“Dropping Scottie was a tricky blow, we have been enjoying so effectively, particularly with Scottie on the ground,” mentioned Barrett. “However it was a hard-fought sport, and we had an opportunity there on the finish. These are ones you want you bought the win, however I feel we performed fairly effectively.”
The loss was Toronto’s third straight as they end their season-high five-game homestand 2-3 earlier than heading to Miami to play the Warmth on Thursday. They’re at 7-18 for the season. The sport was additionally marked by rookie Ja’Kobe Walter scoring a career-high 19 factors in his 22 minutes of ground time. His spotlight might need been aiding on a Barrett alley-oop that the Canadian wing needed to sky-high to catch and end.
“I’m not going to lie, that slipped,” mentioned Walter of his go. “I don’t understand how he caught that.”
The Raptors shot 44.6 per cent from the ground and 13-of-35 from three. That they had 17 offensive rebounds to the Knicks’ six however harm themselves by changing simply 53.7 per cent of their possibilities within the restricted space when the league common is 65.7 per cent.
The Knicks, who improved to 15-9, arrived in Toronto with the NBA’s top-ranked offence and confirmed why by taking pictures 51.2 per cent from the ground and 42.5 per cent from three. All 5 of their starters have been in double figures and three had at the least 20 factors, led by Cities with 24 factors to go together with 15 rebounds.
Anunoby had 14 factors, 4 rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks — together with a pair of blocked threes on consecutive possessions within the second quarter — in his first sport again in Toronto. He’s been glorious for the Knicks who hope that he together with Valuable Achiuwa can present the additional defensive punch they want in the event that they’re going to advance past the second spherical of the playoffs, which is the place their season ended final yr.
Not that the Raptors have come up brief on the acquisition of Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. Barrett has led the Raptors in scoring since he joined them and Quickley — though he’s been restricted to simply three video games this season as a result of varied accidents, the most recent an elbow sprain that may doubtless maintain him out for one more two weeks — confirmed sufficient playmaking and taking pictures skill final season that the Raptors signed him to a five-year contract price $175 million.
“OG was completely different, his versatility and measurement was one thing we have been on the lookout for,” mentioned Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. “So any time you get a participant like that — and naturally Valuable as effectively — it was necessary, you give good gamers up, so I feel was deal for each groups.”
It’s a very boring approach to assess a commerce but it surely simply may be true. The Raptors will simply should get wholesome to see the total advantages on their finish, which might take some time.
