Sadly,: Raptor star Scottie Barnes made terrified statement disappointing…..
The best way to look at Scottie Barnes’ season is with the mantra ‘development isn’t linear’.
2021–22 was a rookie season for Barnes, but it was almost like a mini-peak for him and his career. His NBA fit was seamless, he played with the starting unit from his first game against the Washington Wizards and didn’t look out of place at all. While his shooting was a developing project, there was a time last season when everything he threw at the rim from a distance was flying in the hoop, with form that wasn’t dissimilar to his hero Magic Johnson. Head Coach Nick Nurse regularly gave Barnes the opportunity of guarding the opponent’s best offensive player as O.G. Anunoby was injured for half of the season. His year culminated in the Rookie of the Year award, pipping Evan Mobley and was the cherry on the top as he joined a franchise with only 27 wins the season prior, ending the campaign with 48 victories and a first-round defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers. Barnes was an instant impact, proving pre-draft reports wrong, and supporting the Raptors’ rebound from despair to delight in just a year.
It would be unfair to look at Barnes’ 2022–23 as a failure, just because the development wasn’t as swift as people hoped. Let’s take a look at the core numbers: Barnes still averaged 15.3 points with 6.6 rebounds and a jump in assists per game, from 3.5 to 4.8. The Raptors’ opponents defended him with more respect this season and he failed to adjust promptly, his shooting efficiency decreased greatly. No player has an upward curve their whole career. Ebbs and flows are almost guaranteed, and Barnes has experienced his early on.
When putting his shooting stats from 2021 and 2022 side by side, he’s only improved on one shot area: his left corner 3. Weird. While most of his shot selection has remained similar, the field goal percentages have decreased on most efforts. He’s not as much of a menace in the restricted area — decreasing his efficiency from 71% to 65%. His mid-range shot has worsened, too, and the figure stands at 32.1% compared to 40% a year ago. There isn’t much room for concern though. Despite Barnes’ splits decreasing in efficiency, the fact he showed he can be efficient in Year 1 was a positive in itself, and if anything his sophomore season has been a lesson.
Throughout this season, there has been a constant rumor that Barnes wasn’t in the gym enough during the offseason. Doug Smith of The Toronto Star first ran this story, and inklings of truth have been coming out. In his end-of-season presser, Nick Nurse said: “Scottie’s in the early stages of continual skill development ….he’s got to get a lot of time in the gym and continue to work on his offensive skills, handling, shooting, finishing … all the things he can do to really put pressure on teams as a scorer.” This was reiterated by Fred VanVleet (whether he knew Nurse said it or not): “Get in the lab. That’s all I ever tell him. Scottie’s gonna be as good as he wants to be,” VanVleet on Barnes. “He’s doing that. He’s learning what his routine is gonna be. You’ve just gotta be in the gym all day, every day, and you’re gonna see results.” Barnes has already been in the gym much more, and has been working out with potential Raptors free agent target Terence Mann.
Defensively, Barnes has quietly been improving. With his 6-foot-7 frame that is bigger than 7 feet when unfurling his arms, Barnes and his defensive presence have been one of his major strengths coming out of Florida State and into the NBA. His first season was solid, he defended to-be MVP Joel Embiid in Game 6 of the Playoffs last season and was given difficult matchups during the regular season. With O.G. Anunoby mostly injury-free this term, Barnes had a freer defensive role, more as a helper than anything else. He made an impact. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Raptors allowed 2.8 fewer points per 100 possessions when Barnes was on the floor (which ranks him in the 75th percentile — he was in the 57th percentile last season). His defensive estimated plus minutes (EPM) which zeros in on per-possession numbers, reads around average for all small forwards (he’s in the 65th percentile and a plus). His defense dashboard was almost identical to 2021, and he had particular moments in late-game situations. His defense on taller Jaren Jackson Jr. was one example of his lockdown ability, something that could become more consistent in 2024.
Scottie Barnes was in his sophomore season at the age of 21, and he gained expectations from his rookie year. 2021–22 was almost a pleasant surprise that the shock fourth-overall pick became the reigning Rookie of the Year, and Barnes couldn’t follow it up with much improvement. Yet. He’s already paved himself into the NBA as someone with shooting upside, a want-to-be point guard in a forwards frame, and someone that doesn’t really have a set role cut out yet. With the inconsistency of the Raptors organization as a whole this season, normality should be instilled in the summer and Barnes will have himself a new coach with a potentially different role.
An infectious teammate that isn’t far away from being dominant in the league he’s dreamed of being in. Maybe he needs to be in the gym more, upgrading his skillset and then putting it into games. Maybe it was just the role and the volatile environment. However, Barnes is here now, and it’s time for him to make a name for himself.
