Raptors Veteran Explains How Scottie Barnes' Injury Was a 'Blessing in Disguise'

March 1 was the turning point for the Toronto Raptors this season.

A three-game winning streak in late February seemed to breathe life into the team’s faint play-in hopes. For a moment, it seemed like maybe Toronto could sneak into the play-in picture or at least play meaningful games in April.

Then hope disappeared.

Scottie Barnes fractured his hand contesting a layup attempt by Jonathan Kuminga and Toronto’s season came to a sudden end. The Raptors finished the season going 3-19 without Barnes and essentially looked like the worst team in the NBA for the final five weeks of the year.

But maybe there was some silver lining to how it played out.

“Him getting injured was a blessing in disguise,” Raptors guard Garrett Temple told Vince Carter on the VC Show.

Barnes has always been a high IQ player.

He came into the league as a fantastic passer with an impressive ability to read the game like few others.

“He's very cerebral. He may have the highest IQ of a rookie I've ever been around or like a first, second, third-year player,” Temple said. “He understands the game immensely.”

Stepping away from the court for the final month allowed Barnes to learn from a different perspective. He got to see everything Temple had been teaching him as the 13-year veteran went from being an end-of-the-bench non-rotation player to someone logging significant minutes for Toronto.

“I think it all of that worked out the way it was supposed to for him to be able to see me talking,” Temple continued. “Some guys in this league, you don't want to upset your teammates, you may not want to say this to this guy. (Barnes is) the guy that is willing to do it, but always it's out of love and trying to win the game and he's not doing it the wrong way. So I think that that helped him.”

Barnes was far more animated on the sideline following the injury and it was clear the 22-year-old was beginning to find his voice as a leader for Toronto over the final five weeks of the season.

The hope for Toronto is those final weeks of pain will pay off for the organization in the long run. The Raptors slid down into the sixth spot in the NBA Draft Lottery and if Toronto does keep its top-six protected first-round pick, that disastrous stretch will have been worth it.