One of the biggest topics of conversation in the Toronto Raptors fan base to start this season has been the lack of an All-Star whistle for forward Scottie Barnes. This is a topic that has boiled over in the Raptors fan base and is starting to enter general NBA discourse. It’s extremely puzzling that a player who scores primarily inside the arc like Barnes was shooting just 3.6 free throws per game prior to the start of this West Coast road trip.
Barnes has started to earn a more respectable whistle over the last two games, going to the line 28 times over the course of Toronto’s matchups with both LA teams. However, it’s still too early to tell if the whistle will remain this way for Barnes, as we’ve seen players get respect from officials for a few games and then it vanishes. While I do agree that the refs typically don’t give Barnes the same whistle as other players in his tier, it isn’t all on them.
Barnes has shown off an improved midrange game to start this season, and to me, it's played a factor in his lackluster whistle.
Scottie Barnes' shot selection is part of his free-throw problem
Don’t get me wrong, when a player attempts 32 two-point shots and gets just three free-throw attempts like Barnes did against the Orlando Magic, that’s mostly an officiating problem. But also, as a player, there has to be an understanding that when you are taking fadeaways or midrange pull-ups, you aren’t going to get rewarded with free throws the same way you would for attacking the rim. Yes, the shots are still coming in the same general vicinity as a layup, but fading away from contact and initiating contact on a drive are two completely different things and come with different benefits.
According to Cleaning the Glass, 53 percent of Barnes’ shots this season have been of the midrange variety, which puts him in the 95th percentile among wings. He also ranks in the 88th percentile in short midrange shots and only the 65th percentile in shots at the rim. This all comes at a super small sample size, but if we are talking about why Barnes is getting a bad whistle, that conversation can’t happen without at least acknowledging his affinity for the mid-range shot.
Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Scottie Barnes' midrange stuff, mostly because it’s not a highly valuable shot. However, for him, especially as a power forward, if it’s a shot he likes and can make consistently, I have no issue with him taking it. I just want to see him turn a few of those middies into a few extra steps towards the rim for a layup attempt, so he can get to the foul line more.
In general, I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by how aggressive Barnes has been all season as a scorer. But there are still times where I feel like he forgets that he’s a 6-foot-8 forward who can barrel through defenders and draw fouls on his way to scoring at the rim. If he starts doing that more, he's only going to force the refs to blow their whistles more often.
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