RJ Barrett Sidelined With Lacerated Finger; Return To Action Unknown
KEY POINTS
- The Knicks need to find a suitable replacement with RJ Barrett out for at least a week
- Tom Thibodeau may need to tap seldom-used players on the Knicks' bench to make up for Barrett's absence
- Two players could be traded by the Knicks by the NBA trade deadline
The New York Knicks may have to find someone to take over from RJ Barrett who suffered a finger injury in their game against the Dallas Mavericks last Tuesday, December 27.
With most of the attention on Luka Doncic and his historic triple-double performance of 60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists, most forgot that Barrett had left the game in the first quarter.
In that sequence, the 22-year-old swingman tried to get around Doncic, but the Slovenian reached out with the intent of swiping the ball.
Instead, Doncic ended up cutting Barrett's finger the ended up bleeding.
The third overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft went straight to the locker room and never returned.
According to the latest update from Stefan Brody of the New York Daily News, Barrett will be out for about "a week or so" with a finger laceration.
Hence, head coach Tom Thibodeau will have to find someone else to fill in the void left by Barrett.
The Canadian player has been averaging 19.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and three assists in 35 games for New York.
Players like Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes or even Evan Fournier may have to step up their game for the Knicks.
New York is currently at the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference with an 18-17 win-loss record.
They are currently on a four-game losing streak, and it appears a fifth one is on the way.
As of this writing, the Knicks were trailing the San Antonio Spurs, 73-90, with more than two minutes left in the third quarter.
Thibodeau will have to find someone else from the roster to pick up the slack. Aside from Fournier, Cam Reddish is another player that could answer the call.
Fournier and Reddish were unable to crack the shorthanded playing rotation of the Knicks in their loss to Dallas.
Fournier missed his 22nd straight game since his last appearance on November 13, while Reddish sat for the 12th straight game since December 3.
With the two cagers hardly getting any playing time, both are the subject of potential trade talk.
The NBA trade deadline is fast approaching so it will be interesting if either or both end up donning a new jersey before the current NBA season ends.
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