The Toronto Raptors have been one of the NBA’s worst teams this season, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
At 7-18, Toronto is the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference and third-worst in the NBA overall.
On Wednesday, NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Toronto is now expected to be without leading scorer and 2024 NBA All-Star Scottie Barnes for multiple weeks as Barnes recovers from a right ankle injury.
Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes is expected to miss several weeks with a right ankle injury suffered on Monday, sources tell ESPN. Barnes is averaging career highs of 20.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists this season. pic.twitter.com/J9IlbKNPcX
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 11, 2024
As Charania notes, Barnes is having a career year, averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game this season. He leads or is in second place on the team in all three categories.
The injury occurred in Monday’s loss to the New York Knicks when Barnes landed on center Karl-Anthony Towns’ foot after going up for a shot and landed awkwardly on his ankle.
As he left the court, he could not put weight on his foot. According to ESPN, raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said the x-ray showed no signs of a fracture after the game.
This is Barnes’s second injury this season that has required him to miss multiple weeks of action. In late October, he fractured his orbital bone and missed nearly a month of action. Toronto went 2-9 in the 11 games Barnes missed. He had been playing in a mask to protect the still-healing injury.
Last week, Barnes scored a career-high 35 points in Toronto’s win over the Indiana Pacers.
