3 Toronto Raptors who must start fresh in 2023 after rough December
By Mike Luciano
1. Scottie Barnes
Barnes is having a fine season if you look at the numbers, and he’s a much better playmaker with the ball than he was as a rookie. The main reason that Barnes hasn’t taken that stratospheric leap that many were expecting has been some maddening inconsistency on the offensive end.
Barnes recorded six double-doubles since November 30, including a streak of three in a row before the Suns victory. However, he has the same number of games with 11 points or fewer, including four single-digit nights. Barnes has three games in which he’s made over 60% of his shots and three sub-30% performances.
The Toronto Raptors need a little bit more from Scottie Barnes.
Some of this isn’t Barnes’ fault. After all, how can you develop into a quality role player for a winning team when you’re playing on the wing when the lineup is at full strength, center when smaller lineups require such a move, and point guard as a result of injuries to Fred VanVleet? He’s trying to master three positions at once.
Hopefully, the Raptors can avoid such comical injury misfortune and give Barnes a more defined role as the season shifts to January. Development is rarely linear, but Barnes’ improvement could be straightened out a tad with a more clearly defined set of obligations.