Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barrett, who has missed two weeks with a knee injury, received a platelet-rich plasma injection and will miss at least another week, the team announced on Monday.
Barrett has been out since Nov. 23 with a right knee sprain. He scored 16 points in 20 minutes in that game before departing with the injury.
In 17 games this season, the Toronto native has averaged 19.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
The Raptors have looked like a completely different team with Barrett on the court this season - in the 17 games the former third-overall pick has played in, the Raptors are 12-5.
Since losing him to the knee injury, the Raptors have gone 3-5 in eight games - including just one win in their past six.
“Getting used to playing without somebody who averages 20 and is a real focal point in our offence (isn’t easy),” said Toronto guard Jamal Shead after the Raptors fell 121-113 to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. “Getting used to trying to have other people step up, I think we can do it. We just haven’t figured it out yet.”
The next test for Toronto comes on Tuesday against the New York Knicks, in the first elimination game of the NBA Cup. The Raptors swept Group A in the East and were the first team to qualify for the elimination round.
“We all know who RJ is and what he brings to the table for us,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic on Sunday. “He’s a very important player for us offensively, but I don’t want to look at it in those terms. He’s not here.
“We gotta figure it out. We have a more than capable team. We have a lot of talent.”
Since Barrett was acquired in a trade with the Knicks at the trade deadline in the 2023-24 season, he has averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game with the Raptors across 107 games.