Which 3 NBA legends should Scottie Barnes model his game after?
With the Boston Celtics easily discarding of the Indiana Pacers and Luka and the Mavericks taking care of business against Minnesota, the stage is set for a beautifully competitive brawl between two of the league's very best.
Ironically, the outcome of each team's journeys out of their respective conferences has broadcasted a glaring message to the rest of the league: the race to be the next great dynasty is wide open.
With that said, the Raptors don't have a ton of time on their hands. Boston currently has a chokehold on the competitive landscape of the East - winning 12 of their 14 playoff games - and the West continues to grow more cut-throat by the day with the continuing breakouts of Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards (to name a few).
It's an adapt-or-die scenario for the Raptors, and though the continuing growth of Scottie Barnes can't singlehandedly shift the trajectory of his team's future, success isn't possible without their captain steering them in the right direction.
In this article, we'll discuss three past NBA stars that Barnes can use as reference on his way to becoming one of the faces of the league.
Legend No. 1: Marc Gasol
Though Scottie never got to play at the same time as Gasol, the former Defensive Player of the Year's impact in his short time with the Raptors could be a monumental learning opportunity for the young star.
Even in the back-half of his career, Gasol was a prodigy at reading the floor, especially in high post and pick and roll scenarios where he could calmly progress through his reads without staggering the flow of the offense. Due to his slower pace, Gasol's opportunities in the high post triple threat were usually limited to either shooting a stationary mid-range or passing the ball via backdoor cuts or dribble hand-offs.
Gasol's feel for the game didn't happen overnight, it was an amalgamation of a decade of basketball experience with the Grizzlies. Though Scottie may lack the experience of the 13-year vet, his passing acumen was near the best in the league among forwards last season, where he averaged 6.1 assists per game.
Darko Rajokovic's offensive system prioritizes getting the ball in Scottie's hands near the short corner, where he can go to work in the low-post or kick out if needed. If Scottie becomes accustomed to reading his teammates' patterns in a similar fashion to Gasol, it could explode the potential of the Raptors' other offensive weapons.