That was a tough watch. The Toronto Raptors fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-94 in their first non-Kawhi Leonard game of the season, and I think it warrants a conversation about Scottie Barnes. Although the Raptors still have 79 games left after this to figure things out, I felt Barnes’ approach, shot selection, and effort level were concerning.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t feel great about this matchup for the Raptors even when Leonard was expected to play. Minnesota's three-point shooting has been insane to start the season, and that combined with the sheer size Rudy Gobert brings makes them a matchup nightmare for Toronto. However, on a night where RJ Barrett gets off to a hot start, Immanuel Quickley starts to see shots fall in the second quarter, and Ja’Kobe Walter gives you 20+, it wouldn’t have taken a crazy game from Barnes to at least keep the game competitive.
Barnes failed the first test
I love Scottie Barnes as much as the next person does. And I have never really subscribed to the "he isn’t a leader" or "he isn’t capable of being a leader" chatter online, mainly because I've never felt like that's something he needed to be rushed into. That being said, this group has different standards with Leonard back in town, and now it's time for Barnes to be more assertive as a scorer and lead by example on the court.
I understand sometimes players just have off shooting nights, and instead of forcing shots, Barnes would rather set his teammates up and save energy for the defensive side of the ball.
But as the No. 1 option on a night with Leonard resting, he needed to be more aggressive and stop settling for perimeter shots. Barnes went 0-of-12 from the floor and 0-of-5 from three, but what really highlights the lack of aggression he played with Sunday evening is his free-throw count. Barnes didn’t get to the line once, and that can’t happen. I get Gobert’s big body being down low is going to limit openings to attack the basket, but just three shots at the rim in 28 minutes? No thanks.
I would’ve felt better about the lack of assertiveness Barnes showed in Minny if his defense was elite, but it wasn’t. Yes, he had four steals and one block, which is great. But the energy and effort on that end wavered all game, and several times he looked super uninterested. I’d always rather see Barnes bring consistent defensive energy and intensity than make a handful of flashy defensive plays.
Still, it does speak to his greatness on that end when he can have five stocks (steals plus blocks) on a night where his effort on the defensive end wavered as much as it did.
Am I panicking? No, not in any universe. The Timberwolves are super legit, and part of why I think the conversation around the Western Conference being OKC’s or San Antonio's is foolish. However, there have been plenty of conversations about what this Raptors team will look like on the nights when Kawhi Leonard is out, and I certainly didn't expect Scottie Barnes to be the player I'd come away from this game most concerned about.
Add us as a preferred source on Google