Scottie Barnes Injury Update: Raptors star diagnosed with right orbital fracture
Amid a poor start to the season (1-3), the Toronto Raptors shared major news regarding their star Scottie Barnes. The young swingman got hurt in the fourth quarter of Monday's game against the Denver Nuggets and now will be out for at least three weeks.
Marc J. Spears shared the team's announcement on X (formerly Twitter) after the player was diagnosed with a right orbital fracture:
"The Raptors say Scottie Barnes has been diagnosed with a right orbital fracture. Barnes will be reevaluated in three weeks, and his condition will be updated as appropriate."
Barnes was elbowed with 24 seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter of the 127-125 overtime loss. He was helped to the locker room after being treated on the court.
Scottie Barnes is the present and the future of this team and seeing him miss time is always a blow for the team. He averaged 19.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 46.0% from the field and a poor 18.2% from deep in four games. In his absence, Gradey Dick and Bruce Brown should see more minutes.
The Canadian team will play seven of their next 12 games on the road, which could make things more difficult without Barnes on the roster.
Scottie Barnes starred in heated moment with two Nuggets veteran
Minutes before he was forced to leave Monday's game, Scottie Barnes starred in a heated moment with two veterans that resulted in the forward getting a technical foul.
He was involved in a tense situation with both Russell Westbrook and Aaron Gordon before the injury occurred. Barnes was hard fouled by Westbrook, which led to an exchange between the two players before Barnes and Aaron Gordon had to be separated after trading shoves.
With 11:36 left in the fourth quarter, both Gordon and Westbrook tried to block Barnes' shot, which resulted in the Raptors star hitting the floor.
Barnes made his first All-Star team last season and is crucial to Toronto's hopes of making the playoffs. Raptors fans must already be counting down the days until they have their youngster back on the court.