Scottie Barnes consistently dominating Lakers will make Raptors fans happy

At a time when there is very little that Toronto Raptors fans can smile about, the performances of Scottie Barnes and OG Anunoby in a brutal loss against the Los Angeles Lakers should make some fans more optimistic about the team’s future potential.

Barnes finished the game with a career-best 32 points to go along with nine rebounds and seven assists. The rising star just barely eclipsed his old career-best mark of 31 points, which happened to be set last season in an overtime slugfest against the Lakers in Toronto.

Barnes has already made a habit of showing up in big games against the Lakers in his career, as he has topped 21 points in three of his four career matchups against the purple and gold. Barnes is averaging 24.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game while making 61% of his shots against LA in his career.

On a Raptors team that made just two of their first 30 shots in a nationally televised game, Barnes has shown that the bright lights and pressure that come with playing against the league’s marquee franchise do not scare him. If only his teammates could say the same.

Toronto Raptors SF Scottie Barnes dominated the Lakers.

Barnes and OG Anunoby, who put the trade rumors to bed for one night, did everything they could to overcome a laughable performance by the bench, but it ultimately was not enough. Anunoby made his first 11 shots while locking down Anthony Davis, and it didn’t matter.

While Toronto’s roster is going to look very different in the years to come, the one constant that will be there no matter what happens is Barnes. Even though he hasn’t taken the drastic leap forward many expected, he is a better playmaker than he was as a rookie.

Nights like tonight should show the Raptors that they must find some way to make Barnes either a featured option or the No. 2 behind Pascal Siakam. Relegating him to fifth in points per game while refusing to give him the ball is a losing formula in both the short and long term.

Whenever Barnes is given long leash, he shows that he can take over a game. The Lakers have seen him do it twice in consecutive seasons with and without LeBron James. The Raptors won’t be making noise in the playoffs despite No. 4’s wishes, but watching Barnes go off is a nice consolation prize.