Toronto Raptors Star Scottie Barnes suffered a fractured third metacarpal bone in his left hand during Friday night’s 120-105 loss to the Warriors of the Golden State, announced the team. The Raptors said in a press release that Barnes would be out indefinitely.
Toronto has 22 games remaining on their schedule, with the regular season ending six weeks from Sunday. Barnes injured while trying to defend Warriors forward Jonathan Kumingalayup attempt in the second quarter. He appeared teammate Emmanuel QuickleyBarnes’ foot could have touched Barnes’ hand during the play.
Barnes immediately felt visible pain, walking behind all three rows of seats on the baseline. He entered the game to foul when Golden State went down the court on the next possession and went to the locker room. The Raptors announced the injury a little more than an hour after the game ended.
The 2021-22 Rookie of the Year had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in nearly 16 minutes of play.
Barnes appeared in his first NBA All-Star Game this year, replacing an injury with Joel Embiid And Julius Randle sidelined. Barnes has played in all 60 games for Toronto this year, assuming the role of the franchise’s centerpiece following the trades of OG Anunoby And Pascal Siakam. Barnes is averaging 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.
He missed just 13 of the first 224 regular season games of his career.
The Raptors were playing much better since the All-Star break, recording their first three-game winning streak of the season before losing the final two games. With 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists against Indiana On Monday, he recorded his franchise-record fourth triple-double in a season.
For Toronto, there is no replacement for Barnes. Since the trades, the Raptors have lacked size on the wing. They will likely rely on larger queues, using both Jakob Poeltl and Olynyk. They are also likely to give to younger players, like Gradey Dick And Javon Freeman-Freedommore playing time.
With a 22-38 record, Toronto sits 12th in the Eastern Conference, four and a half games behind Atlanta Falcons for the last place in the Play-In tournament. Their first-round pick is protected if it goes into the top six. If he is seventh or worse, he will be sent to San Antonio Spurs to finalize last year’s deal for Poeltl.
THE Memphis Grizzlies currently has the sixth-worst record in the league, two games worse than the Raptors.
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(Photo: Cole Burston/Getty Images)
