3 reasons Raptors’ Scottie Barnes deserved Rookie of the Year
By Mike Luciano
2. Scoring despite a reduced offensive role
Cunningham was afforded a luxury that Barnes was not privy to during his rookie season. While Cunningham was given the ball and complete command of the offense, Barnes needed to get his 15 points a night while watching his teammates take most of the shots.
Barens frequently went into games as the No. 5 scoring option, as the 1-2 punch of Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet was often supplemented by 3-point shooting from the likes of Gary Trent Jr. and OG Anunoby. Cunningham was allowed to take as many shots as he wanted in the name of gaining experience.
Toronto Raptors: Scottie Barnes scored with fewer shots.
While Mobley isn’t being given a ton of shots alongside Cleveland’s parade of quality starters, his 19.7% usage rate is slightly higher than what Barnes was working with. If given more shots, Barnes could have run away with this award by beefing up his scoring.
As Siakam and VanVleet start to get a bit older, Barnes might need to take over a later chunk of the scoring load. If the Raptors can cleanly make that transition, Barnes’ scoring ability could end up blowing his contemporaries out of the water in just a few seasons.