Scottie Barnes has been an excellent scorer around the rim for his entire NBA career. He shot at least 64% in the restricted area in each of his first five seasons. That’s also where most of his shot attempts came from. 2024-25 was the only season when he took more total shots in the paint than in the restricted area.
So far this season, he has taken more mid-range shots (19) than attempts in the restricted area (15). According to The Athletic’s Es Baraheni, Barnes “has made just 3 shots at the rim in the halfcourt for the Raptors (not including offensive rebounds).”
While it is good to see that Barnes is getting more comfortable further away from the rim and expanding his range, he shouldn’t move too far away from what he’s best at. With his size and strength, Barnes can be pretty much unstoppable on the way to the rim, and, while the Raptors need better spacing, they also need to put pressure on the rim. Barnes does that as well as anyone. The mid-range shot is a nice weapon to have, but it should not become Barnes’s go-to in the Raptors’ half-court offense.
When Baraheni asked Darko Rajakovic about Barnes’s shot distribution in a practice media availability, he said, “We also dealt with a little bit of different schemes from teams, especially Washington. They really allowed him and invited him to shoot a lot of mid-range shots, and he was very efficient shooting those shots. There’s always talking about what is that balance, right? We do need Scottie to live in the paint and then to score at the rim, and he just needs to put an emphasis on that game.”
He also added that it’s not just about scoring, but about Barnes being a great playmaker, so even if he doesn’t have a good shot at the rim, he can set up Jakob Poeltl, Collin Murray-Boyles, or 3-point shooters.
Barnes is not off to the greatest start
Barnes averaged 17 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1 block, and 2 steals over the first three games—solid numbers, but not quite the superstar leap Raptors fans are hoping to see this season.
He started the season off well with a 20-point game in a blowout win against the Chicago Bulls and then recorded a huge double-double with 28 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals in a ten-point win over the Washington Wizards. The only blemish was his eight turnovers.
After that, Barnes played what will hopefully be his worst game of the season. He missed all 12 of his shot attempts against the Minnesota Timberwolves and was uncharacteristically quiet as a rebounder and playmaker with just three rebounds and three assists. It was not a great showing, considering that it was the Raptors’ first game of the season without Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard is now expected to miss significant time with a left knee issue, so Barnes will have to step up and carry the Raptors in the next few games.
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