Scottie Barnes has received some good news.
Barnes has undergone further testing on his fractured right orbital bone and it has been determined that surgery will not be necessary for the 23-year-old, Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic informed reporters in Denver on Monday night.
Scottie Barnes (orbital bone) met with doctors today. Will not require surgery. Will be re-evaluated in two weeks. IQ and the other outs remain out vs. Nuggets.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) November 5, 2024
Barnes suffered the injury when he was inadvertently hit in the face by Nikola Jokic who was trying to go for a rebound. He had to be helped to the Raptors bench and immediately left the game before being ruled out.
Barnes is expected to need at least two more weeks before he will be reevaluated by team medical personnel.
Barnes not needing surgery means that he will be able to return sooner rather than later. The date of his return is still unclear, however it seems likely that Barnes will be out until the middle of November.
The Raptors are hoping to get fully healthy soon as the team will once again be without their lead guard Immanuel Quickley on Monday night as he continues to deal with a pelvic bruise he suffered in the season opener. There is no timeline for his return but it doesn’t appear he is far from returning to action. Toronto will also be without Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown who have been sidelined since the start of the season. There’s no timeline for their return.
Davion Mitchell will continue to fill in for Quickley, while Ochai Agbaji will start in place of Barnes.
Gradey Dick talks about hot start to season
Gradey Dick is having a terrific start to his sophomore season.
He’s averaging 21.0 points over the first seven games which leads all sophomore players. Dick has made a three-pointer in 16 straight games which is the longest Raptors active streak.
Before the game against the Nuggets, Dick caught up with reporters in Denver and talked about what has been working for him so far.
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