The Raptors sent a press release on Monday, announcing that forward Scottie Barnes had surgery to repair the third metacarpal bone in his left hand. Josh Lewenberg of TSN reports that the surgery was done in Los Angeles, and although there was no timeline mentioned in the press release, it is anticipated that he will miss the rest of the regular season.
According to Lewenberg, metacarpal bone fractures typically result in 18 games lost. It was previously anticipated when he was hurt, but with 21 games remaining in Toronto’s season, it makes no sense to accelerate Barnes’ recovery from an injury in a season where the Raptors are certain to miss the playoffs. Barnes is a key player for the future of the team.
In his third season with the Raptors, Barnes made his first All-Star appearance and improved his averages to 19.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks. He also became the team’s face. He’ll probably play 60 games by the end of the season, which disqualifies him from postseason honors because this season’s total is 65 games.
With his acquisition at the deadline, Ochai Agbaji dominated most of Barnes’ minutes. In the team’s victory over the Hornets on Sunday, he started and finished with 13 points and nine rebounds in more than 32 minutes. To decide who will be a long-term core member, Toronto will probably utilize the remaining games of the season to similarly employ playing time on their youthful, end-of-bench players.
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