Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes is considered week-to-week with a right ankle injury suffered in his team’s 113-108 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday.
Barnes appeared to tweak his ankle in the 3rd quarter when he landed on the foot of Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns. The 23 year old was in visible pain on the floor, before hobbling back to the locker room.
The 6’7″ forward has had a rather snake-bitten run of luck in 2024 on the injury front. In addition to the ankle injury, Barnes previously missed 11 games this season after suffering an orbital fracture vs. the Denver Nuggets. Prior to that, he was forced to undergo surgery to repair a broken middle finger on his left hand back in March.
Across 14 games this season, Barnes is averaging career highs in points (20.6), rebounds (8.4) and assists (7.4) while shooting 46.1 per cent from the field. He’s also increased his made 3-point attempts to a career best 1.9 per contest, as he continues to extend his range in his 4th professional campaign.
In a corresponding move, the Raptors announced that they had agreed on a two-way deal with free agent shooting guard A.J. Lawson. The 24 year old Canadian was averaging 24pts/6.6reb/2.5ast/1.3stl for the Long Island Nets in the G-League after being released by the Dallas Mavericks.
To make room on the roster for the two-way contract, Toronto waived injured shooting guard D.J. Carton on Tuesday. The hope is that Lawson can provide some depth along the wings for a Raptors squad that is currently without Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and Bruce Brown due to injuries.
The Raptors (7-18) are next in action on Wednesday night against the Miami Heat in South Beach, FL.
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