Tragedy strikes the Raptors! They are having a forgettable year and currently rank thirteenth in the East standings. But the Toronto franchise hoped to start the second half of their season the right way as they faced the Heat tonight. However, things took an unfortunate turn when their superstar Scottie Barnes was forced to leave the game midway due to a scary injury.

The incident occurred in the closing minutes of the opening quarter. As Bam Adebayo drove to the basket for a layup attempt, Barnes did his best to keep up with him on defense. Although his defensive presence caused Bam to miss the lay, Scottie twisted his right ankle right underneath the basket. In a scary sight, he immediately grabbed his foot and fell to the floor in immense agony.

Concerns grew when Barnes remained on the floor for several moments and struggled to get up as the staff rushed to check on him. Soon after, he left the floor with support from his teammates, as he couldn’t even put his body weight on the injured ankle. It looked like an injury that would require a lengthy recovery.

While fans feared the worst, fortunately, the injury was not serious and Scottie returned to the court in the second quarter. By the end of the first half, he had scored 6 points and two rebounds. Barnes’ return was a huge boost to the team, even though they ended up falling short in overtime. Barnes has clearly been the team’s best player this year, averaging 20.1 points and nearly eight rebounds. And head coach Darko Rajakovic even projects him to be “one of the best players in the league” soon.

Upon returning, he shut down Adebayo on defense and then sprinted down the court to outmaneuver Herro for an impressive shot. Having already missed thirteen games and, of course, with a Supermax extension within reach for him, one can expect him to pull out all stops to make a late bid for All-NBA recognition.

Darko Rajaković credits Scottie Barnes for “Raising the Level” for the Raptors

Well, the Raptors have made it clear that Barnes is the superstar they want to build their team around. That became evident when he inked a five-year $225 million max extension last summer. Moreover, the forward has proven that he is worth every penny as he has shown constant improvement each season. And not just as a scorer, he is able to contribute both ways, as Barnes said in a recent interview, “I feel like I’m a great defender. I feel like it doesn’t really get talked about enough. I guard whoever. I can play one through five, guard whoever. That’s what I pride myself on. Every time I step on the floor, that’s what I’m ready to do.”

Well, stars who take pride in their defense are hard to come by these days. Even Rajakovic has complete faith in Barnes- “The way he sets the tone, the way he plays defense, the way he’s sharing the ball, it’s raising the level for everybody else… When this guy, in the next couple of years, when he continues putting this type of work and intentional work, we’re going to be talking about one of the best players in the league.” While the Raptors are nowhere close to playoff contention this year, their future looks bright with Barnes as their primary superstar. So, they would be thanking their stars that his injury tonight did not put him out for a significant period. Do you agree?