The Toronto Raptors have had to navigate the last seven games without RJ Barrett in the picture. The 23-year-old has been on personal leave since the tragic death of his younger brother earlier this month.
This has been without a doubt one of, if not the toughest periods in Barrett’s life. This is exactly why it’s great to know that the 6-foot-6 swingman is now nearing his return to action after a two-week layoff.
RJ Barrett Rejoins Toronto Raptors
Basketball now seems so insignificant after such a heartbreaking loss in the family. However, you could also say that returning to play the game that he loves should give Barrett some semblance of normalcy as he looks to move forward.
On Monday night, Barrett rejoined his squad on the bench as they battled the Brooklyn Nets:
RJ Barrett was seen sitting on the Raptors bench for the first time since the passing of his brother Nathan 🙏 pic.twitter.com/GwEqPRyf4k
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 26, 2024
Barrett’s moral support for his team didn’t do much, though, with the Raptors still suffering a 96-88 loss against the Nets at the Scotiabank Arena.
Barrett was listed as out on the injury report ahead of Monday’s game. The big development, however, is that the reason for his absence was upgraded to “return to competitive conditioning” (h/t Raptors beat reporter Aaron Rose).
Barrett missed considerable time, and it would probably be safe to assume that he had little to no basketball-related activities during his grieving period. As such, the Duke standout will likely need a few days to get back into game shape.
Barrett is unlikely to play in Toronto’s next game, which is on Wednesday against his former team, the New York Knicks. The Raptors then return to action on Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers, and that could be a more feasible target date for his much-anticipated comeback.
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