The Toronto Raptors have not been afraid of unleashing Scottie Barnes upon the NBA, as Nick Nurse threw him into the starting lineup immediately. While many expected the Florida State product to be a bit raw and unpolished in his first NBA action, Barnes has emerged as a viable offensive scorer and elite defender.
Barnes has averaged 18.6 points on 52% shooting and 8.7 rebounds per game. While his 3-point shot is still coming along, he’s excelling in virtually every other aspect right now, and he’s doing so with some unmistakable energy that has proven to be infectious on a young Raptors team.
Barnes’ growth has been startling, and it’s caught the attention of Toronto’s opponents in the early going. Even though they might not be on the same sideline, they all seem to be already aware that Toronto drafted someone that could be a long-term building block.
Before a game that turned out to be a 102-101 bloodbath of a loss for Toronto, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff spent part of his media availability hyping up Barnes, saying that you can feel that he’s a “difference maker” as soon as you meet him. Considering how well he played against Evan Mobley, it’s fair to say that Bickerstaff’s belief is justified.
https://twitter.com/AaronBenRose/status/1456745033831432198
The Toronto Raptors may have something special in Scottie Barnes.
While Jason Kidd and the Mavericks ended up taking down the Raptors as well, the Hall of Fame point guard can see that Barnes is, in his words, a “really, really good” player. Kidd thinks that if Barnes is not already viewed as a star in this league, he’ll get that recognition soon.
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan focused on just how versatile Barnes is at this point in his career. While his length and ability to defend multiple positions caught Donovan’s eye, he made sure to take note of how aggressive and willing he is to put the ball on the floor. This does not look like the same player we saw at Florida State.
"He’s going to be a very good player, very aggressive, puts it on the floor, he’s got really good length, a two-way player. Defensively, [he] can play a lot of different players. [He's] got the versatility and length to guard a lot of different people." - Billy Donovan on Scottie
— 𝐀𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 (@AaronBenRose) October 25, 2021
Even the biggest Barnes supporter has to be surprised with just how quickly he has adjusted to the professional game and implemented new skills. While many went into the year assuming Barnes would get rooted back to the bench when Pascal Siakam came back, he’s become indispensable for the Raptors.
As unusual as the selection of Barnes over Jalen Suggs sounded at first glance, plenty of coaches and talent evaluators that have seen a thing or two over the years have vouched for Barnes’ rare skillset.