Toronto Raptors: Scottie Barnes is a special player with a bright future

Scottie Barnes and the surging Toronto Raptors. 

One of the biggest surprises of this NBA season has been the success of the Toronto Raptors.

Toronto, eight games above .500 with a record of 38-30, is currently the seventh seed in a stacked Eastern Conference. They are just one game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the sixth seed which would be a big deal because that would put them out of the play-in tournament. Plus, they would avoid the Brooklyn Nets with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving by getting that sixth seed.

A large part of the Raptors’ success this year has been from Fred VanVleet, who is having a career year. Selected to his first All-Star Game, the former Wichita State Shocker is averaging 21.1 points, 6.8 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game, all career highs.

His running mate, Pascal Siakam has been in and out of the lineup all year due to injuries but when he’s been on the floor, he’s been playing some of the best basketball of his career. The 27-year-old is putting up 21.9 points, and a career-high 8.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.

Gary Trent Jr. and OG Anunoby have developed into really good players as well, both putting up career highs in points per game and playing exceptional defense.

With that being said, the most interesting development in Toronto, the one that gives fans the most hope for a brighter future, has been the play of rookie Scottie Barnes.

Barnes is currently averaging 15.3 points, 7.6 boards, and 3.4 assists per game this season. Since the All-Star break, Barnes has been even better: averaging 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game on 57 percent shooting from the field.

He’s doing this all while, for the most part, guarding the other team’s best player. With Pascal and OG in and out of the lineup, Scottie has been asked to defend the best player on the opposing team. Early in the season, he struggled at times defensively as every rookie does, but recently he’s really come into his own as a defender.

Like fellow rookie Evan Mobley, Barnes can guard every position. With his size and strength, he’s more than capable of holding his own down low in the post. With his quickness, footwork, and length, he’s able to defend smaller guards and wings out on the perimeter.

He’s truly the type of player that coaches and front offices value the most: Wings that can switch every ball screen and not be forced into a mismatch while doing it all at a high level.

In the Raptors’ latest game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Barnes pestered LeBron James and Russell Westbrook out on the perimeter. On the offensive end, had no problem going up against one of the game’s greatest in LeBron.

Barnes finished the game with an impressive 21 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal with a plus/minus of +21.

After the game, LeBron had this to say:

That’s quite the high praise from one of the greatest players to ever pick up a basketball. If that doesn’t get Raptors fans excited about what’s to come, then I don’t know what will.

What makes Barnes so special is that most rookies don’t do the things he’s doing on the basketball court. Most rookies come into the league with one elite skill. Some are scorers. Some can defend at a high level immediately. Some are great shooters. Some are exceptional playmakers. Scottie Barnes does all those things. He does whatever the team needs him to do. And he does it all as a 20-year-old rookie playing for a playoff team.

Barnes also doesn’t need the ball in his hands to impact the game. He knows how to play off the ball when VanVleet or Siakam are taking their defender one-on-one.

He’s a willing cutter and is rarely ever standing still on the court. That may sound simple but it’s something NBA fans and media members have been begging Russell Westbrook to do his entire career and yet he still refuses to accept that role. The same can be said of James Harden who is usually standing still on offense if he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. When was the last time Harden scored off a cut to the basket? I’m genuinely curious.

Anyways, that’s all to point out that Barnes is willing to do whatever the team needs him to do to win. Which is a rare trait for a player to have, let alone from a rookie.

Of course, like every rookie coming into the league, Barnes has plenty of work to do in order to evolve as a player. He’s not a great one-on-one offensive player. He needs to work on his shooting and ball-handling ability to become one of the game’s greats. But those are all skills that are easy to learn. It’s much harder to learn how to play smart basketball. The fact that Barnes already has that ability as a rookie is quite remarkable.

Even if Barnes doesn’t win the Rookie of the Year Award this season, it’s clear he has a very bright future ahead.

With a young core of Barnes, Siakam, VanVleet, Trent Jr, Anunoby, and Precious Achiwua, the Raptors are on their way back to title contention.