Raptors need someone to step up with Barnes out

TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors will have to recreate Scottie Barnes in the aggregate.

Barnes was wearing an air cast boot and walking with a cane at Raptors practice on Tuesday morning at Scotiabank Arena. A team spokesperson said the boot is just to protect his sprained right ankle, an injury suffered in the third quarter of Toronto’s 113-108 loss to the New York Knicks the night before.

As Barnes won’t be available for several days, if not weeks, the Raptors will have to find a way to replace the all-star’s offensive and defensive production.

“The versatility that he brings, it’s not like he’s one dimensional, it’s not one player has to pick up that slack,” said sophomore swingman Gradey Dick. “It’s the way he can move the ball, his selflessness and then be able to score.

“That’s why I think we’ve got to pick up those little pieces and figure out how to each do that.”

Barnes is averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists over 14 games this season. Those numbers are better than last season when he had 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game to earn his first-ever NBA All-Star Game appearance.

He’s also a defensive force, with 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game this season.

“It’s tough, because Scottie does everything on the floor, defend, pass, score, shoot, create mismatches, like he does everything,” said reserve point guard Davion Mitchell, who will likely see an increase in play time with Barnes out. “Everyone has to pick up. Like, not just me, literally everyone on the floor has to do something better, do something extra.

“Everyone has to step up. It’s not just one man step up. It’s like every man has to step up.”

Barnes, Toronto’s only all-star last season, had to be helped off the court with 6:47 left in the third as the Raptors held a 73-68 lead over New York. He had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists before going down.

Head coach Darko Rajakovic said after the game that X-rays on Barnes’s ankle were negative. After practice he said that Barnes would undergo further medical imaging on Tuesday afternoon.

“There is a need for the whole team to step up,” said Rajakovic. “I’m really hopeful that they’re not going to miss a lot of time here without Scottie, that he’s going to be back soon.

“But meanwhile, next man up. That mentality (has been) with us from the start and somebody else needs to take the opportunity and do more for us.”

Versatility isn’t just a facet of how Barnes plays, but it defines his position. Ostensibly a power forward this season, he has been splitting playmaking duties with swingman RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., while starting point guard Immanuel Quickley recovers from a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament.

“”He does a lot. Any time you lose a player, there is a need for somebody else to to step up,” said Rajakovic. “Step up does not mean necessarily taking more shots, taking more on your shoulders.

“It’s just being just even more locked in and doing small things. Is that getting over the screen, not getting hit? Is that communicating coverages? Is that boxing out more?”

Rajakovic said that Quickley also had imaging done on Tuesday and that although the ligament is healing, he’s still not cleared for contact.

Injuries have been an issue for the Raptors all season, with the core of Barnes, Barrett and Quickley not playing together for 47 consecutive games dating back to last season.

This is Barnes’s second significant injury of the campaign. He missed 11 games between Oct. 30 and Nov. 18 with a fractured orbital bone after taking an errant elbow to the face.

“We have not have our core guys and main guys in their roles pretty much all season,” said Rajakovic. “What it does at the same time, it’s not allowing us to look (at) what our bench would look like when we have those guys in their roles. Makes it hard.

“I’m staying hopeful that sooner than later that we have this situation to look at our full roster, what it looks like.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.

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