On Friday night, Scottie Barnes winced in pain as he injured his left hand during the second quarter against the visiting Dallas Mavericks. You could feel the air being sucked out of Scotiabank Arena as Toronto’s cornerstone hurried to the locker room in obvious pain.
So, now what?
As of Sunday, the Raptors sit 3.5 games behind the Hawks for a Play-In spot with the Nets parked in the middle. It goes without saying, but Toronto’s plans of remaining competitive and making a postseason push took a massive with Barnes’ departure. He is the oil that greases the offense and the glue that keeps the defense intact.