Raptors vs. 76ers: Scottie Barnes exits Game 1 after being stepped on by Joel Embiid; X-rays on ankle negative
Sat, Apr 16, 2022
NBA News (AP)
The Toronto Raptors' lost Game 1 of their first-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers, 131-111, and their Saturday went from bad to worse early in the fourth quarter when star rookie Scottie Barnes had to be helped off the floor with an ankle injury. He did not return to the game.X-rays on his ankle taken after the game were negative. He is scheduled for an MRI Sunday, per ESPN.
With a little over nine minutes remaining, and the Raptors trailing by 18 points, Barnes came over to provide some help defense on Embiid. As the big man passed the ball, he stepped and landed right on Barnes' left ankle, which rolled under the heavy pressure.
Scottie Barnes with 15-10-8 and this looks bad. Embiid steps right on the ankle pic.twitter.com/52XLHQh8ui
- Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) April 17, 2022
Barnes immediately collapsed to the ground and grabbed for his foot. He appeared to be in serious pain and was grimacing while the Raptors' medical staff attended to him. After a few minutes they got him up on his feet and he was helped off the floor by a few teammates. Barnes was putting minimal weight, if any, on his ankle as he left the court.
The severity of Barnes' injury won't be clear until he undergoes further imaging later on Saturday or Sunday. It goes without saying that eveyrone in the Raptors organization will be crossing their fingers that he escaped without a serious problem. But even if that is the case, it's possible Barnes will end up missing some time.
If Barnes is unavailable at all moving forward, that will be a huge loss for the Raptors. Despite being a rookie, he quickly emerged as one of the team's best players due to his size, defense and versatility. He does a little bit of everything for them, and had 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his first career playoff game before getting hurt.
The Raptors really cannot afford to lose him, especially considering they're already undersized and have a short rotation.
