Early in the fourth quarter, Jamison Battle exited Friday’s matchup with the Charlotte Hornets after tweaking his ankle contesting a three-pointer. The X-rays have come back negative and he is considered day-to-day.
Battle is averaging 4.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.2 assists on 67/57/80 shooting splits. The 24-year-old has seen his minutes fluctuate this season, though had been receiving more playing time with the absence of RJ Barrett and had an excellent 10-point outing against the Lakers last night.
Part of the reason for his lack of minutes to start the season has been the depth of the shooting guard position for the Raptors, and that the Raptors know what they have with Battle. Something Samson spoke about earlier this season:
Battle’s contract is friendly to the team, available next season, and he’s a pretty consistent and unflappable player. His route to the NBA has shown a repeated ability to out play guys who were considered better than he was. Players who had a larger organizational vote of confidence than he did. He just shows up, hits triples, does his job. Does his thing.
Over the last three games, Battle has recieved 14, 11, and 16 minutes respectively. Even earning his first start of the year against the New York Knicks on Sunday. This stretch was Battle’s opportunity to showcase his skillset with a more consistent spot in the rotation, so really hoping he doesn’t miss too much time.
The absence of many of the bench shooting guards could provide the opportunity for the Ontario native A.J. Lawson to get minutes for the Raptors. He has been off to a hot start for the Raptors 905, averaging 25 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists shooting 34.7% on threes. If Battle misses any additional time, he could provide a spark to a Raptors team that has struggled to score lately.
