Report: Barnes dealing with left knee tendinitis

In addition, outside of Jakob Poeltl, who has been dealing with back spasms as well as an illness, no starter has played fewer minutes than Barnes, as he has consistently seen less time in the three games he has played in. When he has been on the court, he has looked visibly less burst-y and athletic than fans have become accustomed to seeing. His struggles have led to plenty of conversation, even on this site, about his role and mindset:

So should the Raptors be worried about Barnes? Probably not, he’s an excellent player. I’m confident his offensive approach will intensify when the games matter. Even if the jumper never comes around. But should the Raptors be worried about their own usage of Barnes? That’s possible. 

Darko Rajakovic needs to find better spots for Barnes to touch the ball. He won’t be on the ball as much, and he’s not a terrific screener, and he’s not a threatening floor spacer. So the team has to be creative in where to place him off the ball, how to position him and his movement within sets so as to weaponize his talents rather than simply sticking him in the corner. 

After averaging 19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists last season, Barnes has shot 6-for-30 (20 per cent) from the floor this preseason, while the starting group overall has not performed well.

In their first minutes together, the projected starting group of Barnes, Poeltl, Brandon Ingram, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett finished a -12 in just over 15 minutes of action against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.

The Raptors have one tune-up game remaining as they’ll play host to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, before hitting the road to Atlanta, officially opening the 2025-2026 season against the Hawks on Oct.22.