RJ Barrett ready to play despite ankle pain | NBA

His injury had been talked about and, because of it, he had missed the last four Knicks games before the All-Star Game. RJ Barrett twisted his left ankle, in the last seconds of the meeting in Denver, while the match was folded…

More than two weeks later, on Wednesday, the full-back/winger was back in training with his teammates. He did not want to return to the controversy that followed his injury.

“It was great to be able to play again. I was always smiling.”, he tells SNY. ” As for the injury, it’s the frustrating one because you never want to get hurt. I always want to be on the floor. A sprained ankle can also happen in the first ten seconds of the game. So, at the beginning or at the end, it doesn’t matter. “

However, his ankle injury is not yet a distant memory. He is still in pain.

“Of course, I still feel pain, I’m in pain”he confirms. “I’m coming back so it’s going to be a little painful. I try to be tough, to push through mentally. I can still move a little so being able to train was a good sign. We still have training on Thursday and I will continue to see how I react. “

Neither the Canadian nor the Knicks communicated on his presence or not on Friday, for the recovery, against the Heat. But as the former Duke participates in training, there is a good chance that he will be in uniform.

Kemba Walker out, Derrick Rose not yet back, New York can only hope RJ Barrett is fit to play soon. Because without him, in mid-February, the Knicks lost three out of four games and there is clearly no time to lose if the franchise still wants to win a place for the “play-in” or the playoffs.