Scottie Barnes figures to be one of the main reasons that the Toronto Raptors have any shot at making some noise in the postseason. Even though his box score numbers may not be more impressive than what he put up last year, those who have been observing him with a very keen eye can see he has been balling lately.
On top of the fact that Scottie is fresh off setting a new career-high in points against the Los Angeles Lakers, Barnes has been much more effective as a mid-range scorer in his last few games. With the Raptors taking care of business against a trio of Northwest division foes in a quick homestand, Barnes helped them rise up the standings.
Things took a turn for the worse in Sunday night’s loss against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. While the club was rolling, Barnes was unable to return for the second half after messing up his wrist. Needless to say, alarm bells were raised.
In a spurt of good news, X-rays were negative, though he is going to head back to Toronto on Monday for more testing. While it’s never good to see a player of this caliber leave the game, there are some signs that his injury may not be the long-term ailment many are fearing.
Raptors say Scottie Barnes (left wrist) will not return. X-rays were negative and he will be evaluated further on Monday in Toronto.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) March 20, 2023
More Raptors news
- Raptors 905 dropped their second game in a row to the Lakeland Magic, losing 112-111 in heartbreaking fashion. The team still had some bright spots. Sterling Brown put up 30 points on 11-18 shooting, while Ron Harper Jr. was productive once again in 30 minutes off the bench,
- OG Anunoby has been on a heater in the last few weeks, making 50% or more of his 3-pointers in each of his last seven games. He is trying to break his own record, as OG himself holds the franchise mark for most consecutive games with more than half of his 3-pointers made.
O.G. Anunoby has shot 50% or better from three in 7 consecutive games for the first time since 2021, tied for the 2nd longest streak in his career.
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) March 20, 2023
Anunoby owns the longest streak in franchise history with 8 straight games back in 2021.
NBA news
- LeBron James is going to bring former teammate JR Smith into his cinematic portfolio, as James is reportedly producing a documentary based on Smith that will be shown on Amazon. Time will tell how much of the movie is dedicated to Smith’s infamous brain fart during Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals.
- In the always-contested MVP race, 76ers star Joel Embiid has overtaken Nuggets dynamo and two-time reigning winner Nikola Jokic in NBA.com’s latest MVP ladder. Antetokounmpo has been fixed in third place with Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic rounding out the top five.