Raptors list Barrett as day-to-day with sprained knee, Walter starts in his place

TORONTO — It could be a while before RJ Barrett is a regular in the Toronto Raptors’ starting lineup.

Barrett was listed as day-to-day by the Raptors hours before Toronto beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-99 on Monday. Barrett missed that game, and likely more, after he sprained his right knee.

“We did obviously some imaging last night, some further examinations this morning,” said head coach Darko Rajakovic in his pre-game news conference. “Looks very promising, very good.

“At this point, he is going to be day to day.”

Barrett seemed to hurt himself in Toronto’s 119-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday when he landed awkwardly after a dunk in the third quarter. He left the floor at the next stoppage of play and didn’t return.

The native of Mississauga, Ont., is second on the Raptors with 19.4 points per game this season. He’s also averaging 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

“RJ is very, very important player for us, and he does some things that are very unique for him and for our team,” said Rajakovic. “I don’t expect anybody to step up in his shoes and to be different than RJ.

“We have multiple players that can bring different dimension to our starters. Is that more defensive minded? Is that more spacing offensively? I think those couple of days that RJ is going to be out is going to be good routine for us to explore and see what it looks like and who can help us the best.”

Backup point guard Jamal Shead picked up Barrett’s minutes in the remaining time of the Raptors’ win over Brooklyn. Second-year guard Ja’Kobe Walter, normally a reserve, was slotted into Toronto’s starting lineup against the Cavaliers on Monday.

Shead was averaging 6.2 points, 5.6 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game this season heading into Monday’s game. He excels defensively, with 0.8 steals and 0.1 blocks per game.

Walter was averaging 4.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game this season before playing Cleveland.

“Jamal Shead is just a winner. He’s making winning plays on both ends of the floor,” said Rajakovic. “That was not an easy decision yesterday, because we had several guys that played really well. I thought that Ja’Kobe played great game as well.

“I was kind of like, between those two guys who is going to be ending the game (against Brooklyn) for us. But it’s good to have that kind of problem, you know?”

Shead was again used in crunch time against the Cavaliers in a two point guard set with starter Immauel Quickley. He finished with nine points, seven assists and a steal on Monday. Walter had five points and three rebounds.

“I think instead of focusing on just being point guards, I think (Quickley and I) just focus on being basketball players,” said Shead. “We both try to make the right pass.

“We both try to just make the right play, whether that’s him shooting it or us making an extra pass.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2025.