The Toronto Raptors were starting to lose their appeal. The days of trade rumors and unhappy players were long gone, and instead, the supporters were preoccupied with win streaks and pizza parties in honor of a new, youthful core that was built around their franchise player, Scottie Barnes.
The supporters were really excited to watch a team that had won 22 games this season play and develop as a unit. However, that excitement took a serious knock on Friday night.
Barnes was out for the remainder of the game after suffering a left-hand injury toward the end of the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors.
Even though the Raptors lost the game, their All-Star forward’s status report was more important.
It was revealed just two hours after the game that Barnes had broken his left hand’s third metacarpal bone and would be out permanently.
This kind of injury usually depends on the Raptors’ chosen course of action, the extent of the damage, and whether Barnes’ hand surgery is necessary.
According to Jeff Stotts’ observation yesterday, it usually takes approximately 31 days to resume basketball activities in the absence of surgery, and 41 days on average when surgery is performed.
Wendell Carter Jr., the big man for the Orlando Magic, for instance, missed 20 of his team’s 47 games due to an injury identical to this one earlier in the season.
Barnes probably won’t make a comeback for the remainder of the season because the Raptors have 22 games left over the next six weeks.
To ensure that his hand heals, the Raptors may want to bench him even if he is able to return for the last week of play.
However, Barnes’ season will have been significant for the Raptors even if it ends in disappointment.
The third-year forward achieved career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, 3-point percentage, and free-throw percentage, and he emerged as an All-Star, becoming the second youngest in Raptors history.
With all the upheavals the Raptors have seen in the past year, they required reassurance that Barnes would develop into the player they had anticipated, and this season has given them just that, with plenty more space for growth.
Although such growth won’t happen until the off-season, basketball still needs to be played. For the Raptors this season, there are still other areas to keep an eye on.
He and big man Jakob Poeltl have a strong relationship in the pick-and-roll, and Poeltl’s ability to screen and close the game for Quickley has improved Quickley’s scoring potential.
In the five games played since the All-Star break, IQ has scored over 21 points and shot over 45% from three on almost ten tries each game.
Poeltl has been instrumental in helping him score goals, and he has been an incredible scorer.
Poeltl has benefited from Quickley’s dump-off passes as he rolls to the hoop, and the Raptors will probably rely more on this as the cornerstone of their offense in Barnes’ absence.
