TORONTO — Don’t tell Scottie Barnes what he’s been doing. Don’t tell him that he’s been hanging out on the baseline, away from the basketball, waiting to cause havoc from out of nowhere.
“I think I’ve been guarding the ball. Those (power forwards) have the ball a lot,” the Toronto Raptors forward said Thursday. “Evan (Mobley) got the ball. Giannis (Antetokounmpo) got the ball. Who did we play before that? Jaren Jackson got the ball. I’ve been pretty much on the ball just trying to guard those guys to the best of my abilities.”
OK, fine: Consider the question about his impact as a help defender rescinded. Barnes has covered Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks’ star, for nearly 70 possessions over two games according to NBA.com, the most any Raptor has guarded any opponent in this young season. Mobley was the only one of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ four All-Stars playing when they faced the Raptors last week, and Barnes guarded him for more than 30 possessions that night. And Barnes defended Memphis’ Jackson with the Grizzlies playing without Ja Morant.
Barnes has long spoken about his desire to be a great defensive player. Given that he is not Victor Wembanyama or a pure rim-protector, a ton of his value is going to come guarding the ball. Undeniably, though, Barnes is making a huge impact on that end in whatever role he fills. This might, in fact, represent Barnes’ individual peak, at least early into his fifth season.
Eight games into the year, Barnes is the only one of the Raptors’ wings averaging more than 20 points sporting a positive plus-minus. Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett only have small negative ratings, so that is not a statistic that tells it all. Rather, it is what Barnes is doing all over the floor, leading to more positive moments than poor ones, that put his early-season excellence into focus.
Barnes is currently the only player in the NBA averaging at least 20 points, five rebounds, five assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game (2016-17 was the last time someone sustained this for a season: Antetokounmpo). These are arbitrary numbers, to be sure, but indicative of the ways Barnes has impacted the game.
With apologies to Barnes’ defence on the perimeter, a situation he is forced into frequently as the Raptors don’t have another great option in their starting lineup, his work on the weak side is what allows the Raptors to thrive. Those steals and blocks so often lead to opportunities going the other way. The Raptors lead the league in fast-break points per game. Whether he is doing it with his strength, intuitiveness, explosiveness or all of the above, that sudden disruptiveness is necessary for the way this team wants to play.
“He’s been doing it for a long time, so there’s not much new there on the defensive end,” head coach Darko Rajaković said. “He’s just getting even more experienced. He’s getting to know the league and tendencies of the players even better. Scottie is a big part of our scouting preparation.”
Admittedly, Barnes’ best defensive moments, and his team’s best performances, have come against flawed teams: Memphis and Cleveland were missing several key players, while the Bucks were on a back-to-back, having played an emotional game the previous night in Indianapolis. Barnes’ and the Raptors’ success needs to be seen through that lens, with an upcoming road trip offering stiffer tests (games against the Philadelphia 76ers and a healthier Cavs team) and some weaker foes (games against the Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers).
However, these are precisely the opportunities the Raptors haven’t always taken advantage of in years past in the rare moments when they have been fairly healthy. That the Raptors were able to survive the games against the Cavaliers and Grizzlies without Jakob Poeltl, who missed those contests with back stiffness, is largely a credit to Barnes for doing enough on the back end. Poeltl is the Raptors’ only center who offers much rim-protection. Barnes can’t do that on his own, but his surprise appearances at the rim can make up for some of that. In the past few years, the Raptors routinely fell apart when Poeltl was not available.
“We need to help each other a lot more. I’m a big voice in that, just telling each other we need to keep helping each other no matter what, no matter where the ball is,” Barnes said. “Just trying to make those reads. It’s all about reading the game.”
Barnes’ offensive potential remains the bigger question. Certainly, Ingram’s one-on-one skills have meant Barnes doesn’t shoulder quite the burden he has in the last season and a half. That was one of the biggest reasons the team traded for the former All-Star.
Barnes has also opened the year by hitting 18-of-37 3-pointers, helping him post 60.3 percent true shooting. (True shooting percentage factors in the increased value of 3-point shots and impact of free throws.) Both of those are easily the highest marks of his career. While Rajaković spoke of mechanical changes to Barnes’ shooting form, we are going to need a much larger sample to determine how real the improvement is. His percentages haven’t improved from elsewhere on the floor.
His shot selection has, though. Last year, he shot 276 field goals from between three and 10 feet from the rim and 187 from between 10 and 16 feet. In total, those attempts accounted for 43.6 percent of his shots. To start the year, that number is down to 37 percent. It is a step in the right direction for Barnes, whose midrange shooting is not his strength, especially compared to Ingram, who has started the year shooting 57.4 percent from between 10 feet from the rim and the 3-point arc.
The Raptors want Barnes to be able to hit those shots in a pinch. But on this iteration of the team, the more he can keep his shots in the deep paint or beyond the arc on clean looks, the better.
“I’m just stepping into it,” Barnes said. “I’ve been working on shooting, going to it confidently, especially sometimes when I’ve got nothing going and that’s what the defence has given me. … I’m eager to shoot it.”
That eagerness has helped produce one of the best versions of Barnes we’ve seen in Toronto.
