O.G. Anunoby and the Toronto Raptors may not have had Pascal Siakam, Precious Achiuwa, or Gary Trent Jr. healthy for their tango with old friend Kyle Lowry and the Miami Heat, but they couldn’t use that as an excuse. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro were unable to suit up for Miami in this one.
Even though Fred VanVleet was back in the lineup following his bout with an illness, Anunoby and Scottie Barnes were expected to take on big offensive roles. While the perimeter defense was horrid in the first half, those two had their fair share of jaw-dropping moments on offense.
Barnes has been under the microscope during the last few weeks, as his inefficient offensive play highlighted the fact that he has hit a little bit of a sophomore slump. Luckily, Barnes appeared to be back to his old self against Erik Spoelstra, while Anunoby was on fire in the second half.
Barnes ended his night with 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while O.G. managed to chip in with a ridiculous 32 points on 13-18 shooting and ten rebounds. If anything can be gleaned from this game, it’s the fact that both Anunoby and Barnes deserve an uptick in shots when everyone is healthy again.
OG Anunoby got 27 points and 8 rebounds on 12 of 15 shooting
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) November 17, 2022
Much of that has been him putting the ball on the floor, using his improved handle to get to his spot, bully his defender there and work.
Just a wholly improved player.
Scottie Barnes and O.G. Anunoby led the Toronto Raptors.
Barnes got the game started with a few mid-range jumpers, but he really caught our eye because of how good he was at the basket. The turnovers were not ideal, but the ultra-athletic Barnes managed to learn from his first-half mistakes and play a very clean game in Toronto’s excellent second half.
Nick Nurse, who said before the game that he believes Barnes is playing really well, asked Scottie to show the same energy that he had in his rookie season on a nightly basis. A few days after that quote, Barnes was back to providing his usual brand of versatile, efficient basketball.
Anunoby not only played stellar defense once again and was one of many Raptors who contributed to a terrific night on the offensive glass, but he was extremely effective driving to the rim, which has been an area he has needed to improve in his career. This was easily one of the five best games in Anunoby’s career.
Barnes has been notably limping a few times tonight, so 17-6-5 is nothing to sneeze at.
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) November 17, 2022
While these two did have the advantage of driving into the paint without the mighty Adebayo there to impact their plans, Anunoby and Barnes’ case for a more expansive offensive role when everyone is patched back to full health just got even more compelling. Doing this against a Spoelstra defense is no joke.