Scottie Barnes’ season might be over.
The All-Star injured his left hand in the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors and did not return.
The Raptors say Barnes has sustained a fracture to the third metacarpal bone of his left hand and is out indefinitely per Shams Charania:
Raptors say Scottie Barnes has sustained a fracture to the third metacarpal bone of his left hand and is out indefinitely.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 2, 2024
Barnes appeared to injure his hand on this play. Barnes drove to the basket and Quickley’s foot caught his left hand:
So it looks like Quickley’s foot hit Barnes left hand. #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/r9UJo4bt4V
— Doc Naismith ℠ (@DocNaismith) March 2, 2024
He immediately grimaced in pain and went straight to the locker room.
This could signal the end of the year for Barnes.
According to Ali Rendely, non operative fractures require casting/immobilization for 4 weeks. Operative timeline is about 8 weeks:
Treatment (surgery or not) & timeline for recovery will depend on severity and location of the fracture.
Generally, non operative fractures require casting / immobilization for 4 weeks. Operative timeline is about 8 weeks.
Good news, it’s his non shooting hand. https://t.co/bmN7w5nho2
— Ali Rendely, MD (@alirendely) March 2, 2024
There’s 6 weeks left in the season. Therefore if recovery is 4 weeks which seems like the best case scenario, it is hard to see the Raptors rushing Barnes back out there. They may elect to shut him down.
The Raptors are currently 4.5 games of the final Play-In spot in the Eastern Conference and 2 games up on the Memphis Grizzlies for the 6th-worst record in the NBA. If the Raptors pass the Grizzlies in the reverse standings, it would give them a 45.8 percent chance of keeping their 2024 first-round pick (top-6 protected).
Scottie Barnes’ 2023-24 stats
If this is the end of the line for Barnes, he had a heck of a season.
The 22-year-old made his first ever All-Star appearance and put up career numbers.
The forward through 60 games averaged 19.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per contest. He shot it 47.5 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from deep.
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