Scottie Barnes has been downgraded to doubtful for the Toronto Raptors' game against the Boston Celtics on Friday due to the right knee sprain he sustained in the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. Barnes exited to the locker room to be examined by medical staff at roughly the 10 minute mark of the final frame, but returned for the final two minutes to aid in the Raptors' buzzer-beater win.
We kick things off in Washington, where the Raptors had a humbling road loss against then league-worst record holders, the Wizards (they picked up another win the following game against the Memphis Grizzlies). The play starts with a dribble handoff from Immanuel Quickley to Jamal Shead, and Barnes sets a pick after, rolls to the rim recieves a nice bounce pass from Shead and flushes home a dunk with two Wizards in the paint.
December 29, 2025 Ingram sits at 12th on the All-Star fan voting list currently at a total of 130,618. Ingram's flashy mid-range scoring and his recent late-game heroics have been enough to get the support of the fans early on. Ingram has posted averages of a team-high 22 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, and 3.8 assists per game this year.
Barnes is far too talented to never get on ball reps, yes, but he's also far too good a finisher, too big, too strong, to never be asked to set screens and roll with gumption towards the cup. His usage as a screener has gone way up from last season, and so too has his finishing. It's not even necessarily about how he's finished there - because he's gone up against some of the biggest frontcourts in the NBA
Cooper Flagg looked every bit like the generational talent he was billed as, meanwhile Collin-Murray Boyles was uncharacteristically passive in his debut and struggled to get his usually magnetic mitts on the ball, finishing with zero points. Alternatively Flagg ripped transition slams and step-back 3s on his way to an efficient 22 points, helping the Mavericks down the Raptors 139-129, dropping them to 1-2 on the season.