Toronto Raptors All-Star Scottie Barnes will be out indefinitely with a fractured hand, the team announced on Friday following a 120-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Specifically, Barnes fractured the third metacarpal bone in his left hand. His timetable for a return will be dependent on whether or not he needs surgery.
Late in the second quarter, Steph Curry slipped a pass through the defense to Jonathan Kuminga, who went up for an awkward layup attempt. Barnes came flying over from the weakside looking for a block, but ended up smacking his hand on the rim in the process. You could hear Barnes scream immediately on the broadcast.
The Raptors played 4-on-5 without Barnes on offense for a possession before Barnes took a foul to stop play. He subbed out and did not return to the game.
It's still how long Barnes will be sidelined, but there's a real chance that his season is over. First and foremost, there are only six weeks left until the end of the regular season, which doesn't leave him much time to recover. And when you consider that the Raptors are 4.5 games out of the final Play-In Tournament spot, there's no reason to rush him back. In fact, it's in the Raptors' long-term interest at this point that they fall down the standings in search of a higher lottery pick.
After a somewhat disappointing sophomore campaign, this has been a bounce-back season for Barnes. Through 60 games he is aveaging 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. Last month, he made his first All-Star appearance as an injury replacement.
As the Raptors look forward to a new era, Barnes will be front and center leading the way.
"Scottie is an incredible player," Warriors star Draymond Green said of Barnes following Friday's game. "You come in this league and you hope to leave your mark. Me playing the point forward position, I'm not gonna sit up here and act like I was the first person to do it, but I think I've done it a little differently than most. He'll take that to a whole nother level.
"For me, to see guys like Scottie Barnes in that mold. He's far bigger than me, probably four inches taller, way more athletic, he's a special, special, special talent... I think Scottie will do way more than I ever did in my career."
