Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barrett during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans, in Toronto, on March 5.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
The injury bug has followed the Toronto Raptors into the new NBA season.
Canadian swingman RJ Barrett will miss the rest of Toronto’s preseason with a sprained right shoulder sustained in the Raptors’ 125-98 exhibition victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday. Head coach Darko Rajakovic said that although Barrett won’t be able to play in Toronto’s four remaining preseason games, he’ll still be busy.
“They’re going to go week by week,” Rajakovic told reporters at OVO Athletic Centre. “He will be able to do a lot of other stuff, conditioning wise and to address his health everywhere else, with his knees and strength and all of that.
“Once he comes back, he’s going to be in a great position to continue.”
Barrett left Sunday’s victory over the Wizards in the second quarter after he ran through a screen set by former Toronto big man Jonas Valanciunas. The Raptors said in a statement that Barrett sustained a sprain to the right acromioclavicular joint on the play.
It’s the exact same injury that has kept rookie forward/guard Ja’Kobe Walter out of training camp. Walter was selected 19th overall by the Raptors in the past summer’s NBA Draft.
“When situations like that happen, you’ve got to look on what are the silver linings,” said Rajakovic. “What are some things that players can do meanwhile to address things that otherwise they may not be able to address?
“Is that strength wise, is that conditioning? Is that watching more film? Is that adding another skill? I always try to look at it from the positive side.”
The 24-year-old Barrett, from Mississauga averaged 20.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists over 58 games last season split between the Raptors and New York Knicks.
He averaged 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 33.5 minutes across 32 starts for Toronto after being acquired from the Knicks in a trade on Dec. 30.
Barrett and Walter will not be lonely at the end of the Raptors bench when the Raptors visit the Wizards on Friday in their second preseason game.
Starting point guard Immanuel Quickley missed Sunday’s game with an injured thumb – it was still in a brace on Tuesday – and veteran small forward Bruce Brown underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee before training camp began.
“In a perfect world, we would like all the guys always to be healthy and always available, but that’s just not reality,” said Rajakovic. “We’ve got to deal with it.
“I think for me, it’s more like a game-by-game process, focusing on our constant improvement.”
The wave of injuries comes after Toronto’s 2023-24 season was scuttled by similar woes in March. All-star forward Scottie Barnes and starting centre Jakob Poeltl missed the rest of that campaign after surgeries.
Poeltl and backup forward Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops both said that it was frustrating to have so many missing teammates so early in the preseason because they were hoping to build up chemistry before the season begins on Oct. 23 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“The more reps you get in the better, and live reps are even better than in practice,” said Poeltl. “It might be a little bit of a coming-back phase in the beginning.
“But [Quickley] and I put in a lot of work this summer. We put in some work together where we worked on our stuff, so I imagine it’s going to come back quickly.”
Olynyk and Barrett played together on Canada’s Olympic team, but the forward said he was hoping the entire Raptors lineup would get more time on the floor together.
“It’s always good when guys are playing because you’ve still got to build that connection, that cohesiveness, especially for a unit like ours [which] hasn’t played a lot together,” said Olynyk. “Those are important moments and times.
“Hopefully, RJ isn’t too bad, and hopefully we get Quick back here pretty soon. These are just days and games to keep building on.”