Though the Toronto Raptors are classified as a rebuilding team, they have enough talent on their roster to fight for a spot in the playoffs.
RJ Barrett wears the Raptors jersey with hometown pride, his passion bleeding into his performances. Immanuel Quickley, acquired by Toronto at the same time they landed Barrett, has plenty of two-way upside. Scottie Barnes, a first-time All-Star in 2023-24, is one of the most versatile players in the NBA.
They’re all 25 or under, which lends itself to the notion that Toronto is rebuilding. Furthermore, the Raptors have drafted five players over the last two years, four of whom are on standard contracts. With that amount of youth, Toronto is definitely not an established team. Their inexperience and lack of development —skill and physical —will often show.
Nonetheless, so long as this trio is leading the Raptors, they have a fighting chance.
Raptors’ Budding Star Scottie Barnes Returns After Months-Long Absence
On Friday, the Raptors will get to see Barnes play in an NBA game for the first time since fracturing his hand against the Golden State Warriors on March 1, per TSN reporter Josh Lewenberg.
Scottie Barnes is expected to make his preseason debut in Washington on Friday. It will be his first NBA game since he sustained his season-ending hand injury on March 1. “I’m just happy to be playing again. It’s been a really long time.”
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) October 9, 2024
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It might just be a preseason exhibition against the Washington Wizards, who lost to the new-look New York Knicks on Wednesday night. Nonetheless, it’s a great opportunity for Barnes to get his feet wet in preparation for the regular season. After a seven month absence, his conditioning needs to be tested and rust has to get knocked off. Barnes has been practicing with his team, but it’s all but impossible to simulate a real game.
Unfortunately for the Raptors, Barrett is out for the remainder of the preseason after spraining his shoulder against the Wizards. Thus, Toronto’s Budding 3 won’t get to work on their chemistry. Obviously, this is the same issue that the Raptors ran into after last season’s All-Star Break. However, like Barrett, Barnes can still use this time to explore his game and get comfortable with his new teammates.
The reps will be on a much smaller scale, but they’re still valuable.
What He Needs To Work On
In 2023-24, Barnes averaged career-highs of 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game. He also made a career-high 34.1 percent of his three-point attempts, including 38.5 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes. This upcoming season, it would be nice for Barnes to surpass the 20-points-a-night threshold and become a more consistent jump shooter; they’re not mutually exclusive.
Barnes’s whirling dervish attack has seen him get most of his points inside the arc though. To that point, the average distance on his shot attempts is 11.3 feet away from the rim and 75.3 percent of his field goal attempts have been two-pointers. Furthermore, 57.3 percent of his field goal attempts have come within 10 feet of the rim.
Whether it’s a hook shot, finger roll, or fadeaway, the Florida native likes to get his buckets on the interior. However, Barnes needs to be sharper in this area, creating more consistent separation with his strength or footwork. With that being said, basketball is a team sport; his coaches and teammates have to help him get cleaner looks too.
A lot of times last season, the Raptors favorite play looked like it was called ‘give Barnes the ball and let’s see what happens.’
In maximizing Barnes’s scoring potential, the Raptors have to recognize the benefit of utilizing the playmaking of his supporting cast.
Though Barnes often the pick-and-roll ball-handler, he wasn’t used enough as a roll man. This while being their most dynamic player in the pick-and-roll because he can roll, pop, or initiate. He wasn’t utilized enough as a cutter either despite scoring 1.49 points per possession on cuts, shooting 75.9 percent from the field.
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