Scottie Barnes seems to be playing through some ankle discomfort.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said that the 23-year-old has been playing through ankle soreness, knee soreness and tightness in the last 10 days. However, Barnes told Rajakovic after the game against the Atlanta Hawks that his body is beginning to feel better, per Sportsnet’s Michael Grange. “I’m expecting him to make strides,” Rajakovic said.
Barnes suffered an ankle sprain against the New York Knicks on Dec. 9 after he came down hard on Karl-Anthony Towns’ foot. The initial report from ESPN’s Shams Charania was that Barnes was expected to miss “several weeks.” However, Barnes had a quick recovery and only missed two games before returning to action on Dec. 19 against the Brooklyn Nets.
Barnes started slow scoring 16 points in his first game back and then had one of the worst performances of his career on Dec. 22 against the Houston Rockets putting up just 6 points on 2-for-15 shooting. However, Barnes is starting to return to form. In his last three games he’s averaging 23.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists. His efficiency has been a lot better but he’s been turning the ball over a ton. He coughed it up 8 times in the Raptors’ latest loss against Atlanta.
Given where the Raptors are record wise they could have elected to take things slow with Barnes’ return, but it seems like Barnes is close to being 100 percent which is a good sign.
The Raptors as a whole are nearing full strength for the first time this season as they finally got Bruce Brown back who made his season debut on Sunday night. Raptors lead guard Immanuel Quickley is the only Raptors player who remains out without a timeline for his return.
NBA insider reveals expected asking price for Bruce Brown & Kelly Olynyk
The Toronto Raptors could be busy leading up to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
NBA insider Marc Stein revealed Raptors’ veterans Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown’s expected asking price ahead of the trade deadline which is believed to be second-round picks.
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