Panic or Patience on 3 concerning Raptors preseason trends
By Mike Luciano
Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, and the Toronto Raptors are almost done with their preseason grind, as they have started off 2-2 with wins against the Jazz and Celtics while falling in defeat against the Rockets and Bulls. The results from these games have been very mixed.
While Toronto’s defense looks solid once again, and players like Dalano Banton and Josh Jackson have been extremely impressive at the back end of the roster. Toronto looked unstoppable early in the preseason, but their momentum has hit a brick wall after the last two games.
The flaws and defects of this roster have been laid bare for everyone to see. This included a poor perimeter game and a propensity to let the game get out of hand very quickly when trailing. The Raptors now know which issues must be sanded down before the season starts.
Let’s observe what the Raptors have shown us over the last few games and determine which problems will be addressed before the you-know-what hits the fan in the regular season. Are there any preseason issues that will likely right themselves through the laws of probability?
Panic or Patience for 3 Raptors preseason trends
1. Scottie Barnes at point guard
Barnes looks like a more confident offensive player, as he’s nailed a couple shots that have a very high degree of difficulty, but his point guard performance was less than satisfactory. With Scottie in line for the backup point guard role, Toronto needs to see more out of him.
He turned the ball over six times in the loss against the Rockets, failing to record a single made shot from the field in that performance. While it’s good to shake off the rust now rather than in the middle of a high-octane battle in the regular season, this doesn’t exactly instill confidence.
Scottie Barnes needs to be more composed at point guard.
Barnes has the passing skills needed to be a star, and his size was problematic on that end for players last year. His issues stemmed from his inability to keep the ball under control while setting up the offense. These are things that a still-growing player will figure out how to do.
Amid all of the hype surrounding Barnes, it’s easy to forget he is just 21 years old. Learning multiple positions for a playoff team is a huge undertaking, and he should have no issue eventually settling in and becoming a solid ball-handler for this team.
Verdict: Patience.