{"id":333505,"date":"2025-12-09T00:55:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T00:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/333505\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T00:55:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T00:55:08","slug":"raptors-struggling-without-barrett-as-nba-cup-quarter-final-against-knicks-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/333505\/","title":{"rendered":"Raptors struggling without Barrett as NBA Cup quarter-final against Knicks looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) reacts during his team’s loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.Chris Young\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

When Darko Rajakovic was asked for an update on injured offensive dynamo RJ Barrett before the Toronto Raptors\u2019 third loss in a row on Sunday, the head coach promised an update later in the week.<\/p>\n

Judging by the way Barrett was hobbling around outside the Raptors locker room after his team\u2019s 121-113 defeat to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, the Canadian requires more time for his sprained right knee to heal.<\/p>\n

It was no surprise when the team announced on Monday that Barrett would be sidelined for at least another week following a platelet-rich plasma injection in his sprained right knee.<\/p>\n

Barrett\u2019s teammates know they have to figure out how to win without him. The Raptors have dropped five of their last eight games without the Mississauga, Ont., standout and five of their last six overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting used to playing without somebody who averages 20 and is a real focal point in our offence [isn\u2019t easy],\u201d said Toronto guard Jamal Shead. \u201cGetting used to trying to have other people step up, I think we can do it. We just haven\u2019t figured it out yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Barrett (9), injured his knee on an awkward landing after a dunk in a win against Brooklyn. He will be evaluated again in a week.AJ Mast\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Nobody stepped up for the Raptors in the first half of the Celtics game. The visitors enjoyed a whopping 77-59 advantage after two quarters. The second half was different as players like Shead, Ochai Agbaji and A.J. Lawson of Brampton, Ont., started contributing off the bench.<\/p>\n

Shead and Agbaji nailed three-point jumpers late in the third quarter. Lawson drilled home another three-pointer early in the fourth as the Raptors overcame a 23-point deficit to snatch their first lead with a Shead layup with 10:39 remaining.<\/p>\n

Agbaji finished with a season-high 11 points, his first double-digit scoring performance of the 2025-26 campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to step up and help the team because we need every single player in this team to step on the floor and contribute and to continue working,\u201d Rajakovic said. \u201cWe know how to get there. We\u2019re going to work on that, and we\u2019ll get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The poor first half left Rajakovic scratching his head. The 77 first-half points were the most Toronto has surrendered in a half this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know who RJ is and what he brings to the table for us,\u201d said Rajakovic. \u201cHe\u2019s a very important player for us offensively, but I don\u2019t want to look at it in those terms. He\u2019s not here. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe gotta figure it out. We have a more than capable team. We have a lot of talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Raptors have the New York Knicks in town for the fifth and final game of their homestand on Tuesday. It\u2019s not only an NBA Cup quarter-final, but the Raptors will also be out to avenge a 116-94 loss at Madison Square Garden without Barrett on Nov. 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019d personally say is throw everything else out the window,\u201d said Brandon Ingram, who led Toronto with 30 points on the one-year anniversary of suffering a season-ending left ankle injury. \u201cWe\u2019re going through a little stretch where things haven\u2019t gone our way. We\u2019ve been in a little losing streak.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we have to just remember what happened to us in New York, remember that feeling. The biggest thing is just to clear our minds. None of us like losing, none of us like being in this situation, so we just gotta come in with a clear mind.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) reacts during his team’s loss to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,459,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,82,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-333505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-nba","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}