Raptors fans had to endure a bunch of slights recently. Collin Murray-Boyles didn’t make the All-Rookie First Team, which was not a big surprise given how much time he missed with a thumb injury, but there was still an argument that he was impactful on a much better team than most of the other top rookies. Then, Scottie Barnes wasn’t voted onto the All-Defensive First Team and was left off the three All-NBA teams altogether.
The latter caused many fans to compare Scottie Barnes and Jalen Duren. The argument was that Barnes was the better, more well-rounded player and deserved to be on an All-NBA team more than Duren. Even The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie called it “ludicrous” on the Game Theory Podcast that Duren received more votes than Barnes.
There’s legitimacy to the fact that Barnes plays a huge role for the Raptors as a go-to defender, primary playmaker, and key scorer, while Duren has the privilege of playing with Cade Cunningham. The Raptors’ star deserved to be recognized for the outstanding two-way season he had. However, Zach Lowe reminded Raptors fans on the May 26 episode of The Zach Lowe Show that Duren had a solid case as well and wasn’t the only player in direct competition with Barnes.
“For the whole entire season, the Pistons in something like 700 minutes with Jalen Duren on the floor and Cade Cunningham off the floor were plus 11 per 100 possessions for the entire season,” Lowe said. “So there was a pretty airtight statistical case that Jalen Duren deserved to be All-NBA, and it’s not like he was the only guy who made it at the expense of Scottie Barnes, so I just want to put that to bed.”
Some of the stats he used to underline his point were Duren’s scoring, especially in isolation, and his offensive rebounding.
Scottie Barnes will make an All-NBA team sooner rather than later
Many things can stand between a player and an All-NBA selection. The sheer number of stars and talented players in the league is one of them. There are only 15 spots, and someone worthy of the honor will always be left off. Another obstacle is injuries. Players have to play at least 65 games to be eligible for All-NBA. Just one ankle sprain or one bad fall can put that at risk.
Even with those obstacles, there’s little reason to think that Barnes won’t make an All-NBA team in the next few seasons. He is still getting better, and the Raptors’ playoff run exposed a wider audience that may not watch the Raptors a lot to his talent.
Add us as a preferred source on Google