3 hot takeaways as lethargic Raptors get obliterated by rival Nets

1. It’s time to be concerned about Scottie Barnes

After making some small improvements in his perimeter game during the offseason, Barnes has struggled out of the game this season, seeing his scoring, rebounding, and efficiency all go down. Barnes’ November was poor, as he shot just 39% from the field, and December hasn’t started well either.

Barnes finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, and three assists while making 50% of his shots. Not bad, all things considered. However, his seven turnovers were killer, especially when the Raptors were bailing water in the first half. Another injury sustained late in the game is not ideal for a player who was struggling prior.

Scottie Barnes must step up for the Toronto Raptors.

The three things Barnes needs to do in order to maximize his success are shoot efficiently, avoid turnovers, and show the requisite level of effort needed to win. It seems like Barnes just can’t seem to activate all of those traits at once this year, as he’s been much more volatile than he was as a rookie.

If he’s been playing through injuries this whole time, the fact that Nurse is throwing him out there in Game No. 22 of the season for heavy minutes is a disgrace. If he’s healthy, however, fans and executives alike need to be slightly concerned about why Barnes’ production appears to be stagnating.

His effort picked up in the second half, but that doesn’t erase the turnovers.