Excitement is definitely one way to describe the feeling in Raptors Nation right now.
After starting off 0-2 against Cleveland, Toronto has gone on to win a convincing Game 3 and an absolute rock fight of an affair in Game 4 to tie the series at 2-2. And just who is driving much of the Raptors' success right now? None other than Scottie Barnes.
There was no doubt that Barnes would be super important in this playoff atmosphere, but perhaps some questions loomed over who might emerge as the number one option to lead the team into a favorable position. Would it be Brandon Ingram, whom the Raptors showed a ton of faith in by bringing him on board last February, and who proved in the regular season to be a very capable All-Star talent once again? So far, that hasn't exactly been the case.
Instead, Scottie Barnes, along with some notable efforts from RJ Barrett and Collin Murray-Boyles, has been the focal point of this Raptors postseason run. Barnes is showing that he can be every bit the versatile and defensive force, while also turning up his aggression on the scoring front, which is an absolute win given some uncertainty in that area.
The former Rookie of the Year and two-time Raptors All-Star has been the darling of the fanbase for quite some time, but perhaps no other member of Toronto's internal camp is more of a believer in Scottie Barnes than head coach Darko Rajakovic. Coach Darko has shown to be always ready to stand ten toes for Barnes at any moment and has been like that since he joined the Raptors organization.
In the post-Game 4 media scrum, Rajakovic was asked about Barnes' current playoff uptick and whether this is the version of him he envisioned from way back then.
Darko Rajakovic feels Scottie Barnes is only scratching the surface of his talent
The Raptors' head coach replied: "No, I expect more from Scottie. Scottie is going to bring more. Scottie right now, the way he's playing, he's at sixty-percent of a player that he's going to be in two, three years. Scottie is going to be one of the best players in the league and he's already one of the best players in the league. How much he cares about winning, it's pushing him forward to do whatever it takes to to win the game and that's what makes him so special. So I expect him to continue getting better and improving."
While it's been great to see No. 4 take his game to new heights in the postseason, as Coach Darko lays out here, it seems like Scottie Barnes is just getting started. Rajakovic's belief in the 24-year-old star remains unwavering, and it doesn't stop at some set quota based only on this playoff sample.
Though this atmosphere definitely sets the stage for a mindset and growth that Barnes can continue to build on to help push the Raptors toward their ultimate goal, which of course is raising another Larry O'Brien trophy down the line.
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