Toronto Raptors Adjust After Barnes’ Injury

Highlights

• Scottie Barnes fractured his third metacarpal and is out indefinitely, possibly with surgery.
• Ochai Agbaji replaces Barnes in the starting lineup, helping the Raptors secure a win over Charlotte.
• RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to take on bigger leadership roles with Barnes out, showing strong performances.

The rest of the season may look a little different for the Toronto Raptors.

In Friday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors, Scottie Barnes was hit in the hand going up for a drive to the rim a few minutes before halftime. He exited the game and immediately went back to the locker room, not returning for the rest of the game.

Later that night, it was announced Barnes had fractured the third metacarpal bone of his left hand and would be out indefinitely.

The Raptors ended up losing the game against Golden State thanks to the shooting of Stephen Curry but played their first full game since Barnes’ injury on Sunday. They ended up winning over the Charlotte Hornets, 111-106.

Scottie Barnes Injury Updates

The Team is Still Determining if Barnes Will Need Surgery or Not

When it was announced that Barnes had a fracture in his hand after the game against Golden State, there was no additional info on the timeline for his return.

The bone he fractured is the one right below the ring finger, on his non-dominant/shooting hand. That particular injury takes anywhere from three to six weeks to heal and sometimes requires surgery.

The team has yet to announce if Barnes will need surgery, but judging from how much time is left in the regular season and the fact that the Raptors likely will not have a post-season, we may have seen the last of Barnes until fall.

“I hit up with both Quickley and RJ before the game [to say] don’t think that you got to do more now when Scottie isn’t there, that you got to take more shots necessarily. You guys are both great players, you’re going to get your shots in the game, just allow it to come naturally and make sure that we have a good ball movement and we’re playing together. We are re-establishing the identity.”-Darko Rajaković

They’ll also likely take the biggest precaution necessary with their star player. At 22 years old, Barnes is the face of the franchise, and any lingering injury issues would not be ideal.

It makes sense, especially with the Raptors’ current placement in the standings, to let Barnes heal into the off-season and not rush him back onto the court.

Barnes averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists in his third NBA season, reaching a career-high 34.1 percent in three-point shooting. He went to his first All-Star game as a reserve this season after being called up as an Eastern Conference injury reserve.

Ochai Agbaji Gets the Start for Barnes

Agbaji Scored 13 points in His First Start for the Toronto Raptors

With Barnes out likely for the rest of the season, his spot in the starting lineup may end up going to a rotating cast of Raptors bench members.

When Jakob Poeltl missed a month of games with an ankle injury earlier this year, Darko Rajaković tried a few different options in his spot on the starting lineup. Due to that, Jontay Porter got a shot at some minutes, and that will likely again be the case with Barnes out.

Most of the Raptors’ bench are young players looking to prove themselves to a team that will have a few more roster decisions to make in the off-season. Expect to see any of the players who fit into that small forward role given a shot over the next few weeks.

In Sunday’s game against the Hornets, it was Ochai Agbaji who got the start. Agbaji came to the Raptors from the Utah Jazz at the trade deadline with Kelly Olynyk. He’s had flashes of potential in limited minutes in his month in Toronto.

“I’d rate [my performance] like a C. Kind of hard on myself, but I obviously didn’t shoot it well. I thought that that’s something that could have shown up and could have been better at. I mean, there’s obviously room to grow. Even if I made all those shots, I would have said, you know, probably like a B plus or A minus. That’s just kind of how I am.”-Ochai Agbaji

He ended up scoring 14 points, nine rebounds, one assist, and two blocks in his first Raptor start, ending up with a +14 rating.

RJ and IQ Hold it Down

Barrett and Quickley Scored a Combined 45 Points Against Charlotte

Now that Barnes will likely not play for the rest of the season, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley will probably shift into bigger leadership roles on the court.

Both players have been putting up incredible numbers since they were traded from the New York Knicks, and their chemistry will help them as they become the primary options on this team.

It will be a good chance for Raptors fans to see what the rest of their core truly looks like without Barnes. In the Hornets win, Barrett scored 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while Quickley had 22 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds.

“I think I have to be a better leader, which I think I have to do regardless. We’re a very young team, so just trying to show guys where they need to be and just encouraging guys to do the best they can and just try to do my part as a leader to try to encourage guys to help them get better, to help them improve. On the floor, I try to be who I am, which is be aggressive, compete and have fun.”-Immanuel Quickley

Gary Trent Jr. has also had some great games over the past month, and he had 17 points in the Raptors’ first full game without Barnes.

Just like with the bench, the Raptors also have decisions to make in the offseason in their starting lineup. Trent Jr. is on an expiring contract, and Quickley will be a restricted free agent come July.

These last six weeks are especially important to evaluate who the team may want to keep going forward. Now with Barnes out, the team will have to find a way to move forward without their biggest threat.