Raptors forward Scottie Barnes underwent surgery for the third metacarpal bone in his left hand on Monday, the team announced in a press release. The surgery was performed in Los Angeles and while no timetable was provided in the release, the expectation is he’ll miss the remainder of the regular season, according to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg.
Lewenberg observes the average time lost for fractured metacarpal bones is 18 games. It was already expected when he was injured, but with 21 games left in Toronto’s season, there’s no sense in rushing Barnes — a staple for the future of the franchise — back from injury in a year where the Raptors are poised to miss the postseason.
Barnes enjoyed his first All-Star appearance in his third season with the Raptors, improving his averages across the board to 19.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks as he became the face of the franchise. He will likely finish the year with 60 games played, which means he’s ineligible for postseason awards since those require 65 games played as of this season.
Ochai Agbaji, acquired at the deadline, took over the majority of Barnes’ minutes. He drew a start in the team’s Sunday win over the Hornets and recorded 13 points and nine rebounds in over 32 minutes. Toronto will likely use the rest of the season to similarly use playing time on their young, end-of-bench pieces to determine who will be part of the long-term core.
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