New York Knicks rookie RJ Barrett went down in the third quarter of their 121-98 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night with an ankle injury. Apparently, this is the first time that Barrett had suffered a high ankle sprain as he did on Thursday. Nevertheless, Knicks head coach Mike Miller believes their 2019 3rd overall pick can “bounce back quickly” from this recent setback.
“That's what I found out last night, that he's never really had a high ankle sprain like that,” said Miller via Alex Smith of SNY.tv. “He'll bounce back quick.”
Barrett turned his ankle pretty badly while driving to the basket. He stayed on the floor for a while, but walked off to the locker room under his own power. He did, however, leave the arena in crutches.
The Knicks announced that they will re-evaluate the Duke standout's ankle in a week. This is definitely a bummer for Knicks fans as Barrett was already starting to pick up his game over the last couple of weeks.
Before going down with the injury on Thursday, Barrett scored in double-figures in seven consecutive outings for the Knicks. Through that stretch, the 20-year old was averaging 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals, while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the foul line.
The New York Knicks are well on their way to yet another lost season that will see them land another high lottery pick in next year's NBA draft. Developing Barrett and giving him all the experience he can handle in his rookie campaign should be priority number one for the franchise.
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