3 nightmare scenarios that would ruin the Raptors’ season

1. Scottie Barnes stagnates

The Raptors have placed a ton of their eggs in Barnes’ basket, believing that a player with his raw talent is in line for a very long career as a superstar in this league. If he keeps treading water with regard to his current level of play, that would be disappointing.

On top of the fact he’s looked merely average in the preseason, the hobbled Barnes still has to contend with four other 15-point-per-game scorers that might not always be willing to concede shots. 15.3 points per game as a rookie was a sterling effort, but averaging that exact same number again might be slightly concerning.

Will Scottie Barnes improve for the Toronto Raptors?

The Raptors might win games this season if Barnes puts up similar numbers, and they would be more than happy (for this year) to have him operate as the tertiary scorer. However, we need to see some of the superstar flashes he showed off last year appear with more regularity.

Knowing how the Raptors have typically been solid with their ability to develop stars, Barnes will almost assuredly be an All-Star caliber player at some point in his career. Trying to win and develop talent on the fly is hard, but the Raptors have created a situation where they must do both.