Scottie Barnes left Monday’s loss to the Nuggets with an eye injury late in the fourth quarter. The ailment occurred when Barnes took an involuntary elbow to the face from Nikola Jokic when attempting to grab an offensive rebound. The All-Star was in the midst of his best performance in the young season, having collected 21 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and five steals to that point.
According to the team, Barnes has been ruled out for Wednesday’s contest versus the Hornets. Toronto now indicates that Barnes suffered a right orbital fracture and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
If Barnes misses extended time, it would open up a lot of opportunity for a Toronto roster that is already decimated by injuries. Barnes was in possession of a career-high 26.7% usage rate through four games in 2024-25. He was also averaging 90.0 touches per contest — the eighth-highest mark in the NBA.
RJ Barrett, who returned from his own injury on Monday, will now serve as the team’s go-to scoring option. Immanuel Quickley will pick up some of the slack, as well, though he’s currently dealing with a pelvis injury and is doubtful to suit up on Wednesday. If Barnes is sidelined for a while, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji and Jonathan Mogbo would be asked to do much more and step into larger roles.
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