He had just missed his pass, intercepted by Jaden McDaniels who then went to dunk on him. SO Scottie Barnes took revenge on the next possession, with a 3-point basket in front of his opponent, before pointing at him, as the Wolves bench had just done to celebrate for McDaniels' dunk.
This is how the winger's evening, sanctioned with a technical foul for this gesturestarted against the Wolves. In the two actions in question, Scottie Barnes, who was making his return after 11 games missed due to a fractured eye socket, pulled up the leather.
Darko Rajakovic had decided to relaunch him in his major five in place of Davion Mitchell. The ghost thus evolved alongside RJ Barrett, Gradey Dick and Ochai Agbaji, without forgetting Jakob Poeltl. No real playmaker therefore.
” (I like) seeing Davion come off the bench, what his role is as a backup point guard, and what he can bring to the team. I also wanted Scottie to have the ball in his hands more often with RJ in the five. Adding a little size isn't a bad thing either “, justifies the coach.
Accelerate as soon as possible
His desire to take advantage of the winger's creative qualities is not new. The absence of Immanuel Quickley is an opportunity to make him more responsible in this sense. With his 17 points (5/11 on shots including 2/4), 6 assists and 3 rebounds in 27 minutes, the man in the red protective glasses contributed to his team's victory against the Wolves.
“ Scottie Barnes! It was nice. Having Scottie in the five with us… He’s a special player. He made it easier, that's for sure. I was there, enjoying it. When you have a guy like that, it makes everyone's job easier », appreciates RJ Barrett. With Scottie Barnes or another at the helm, the Raptors' philosophy remains the same: accelerate the tempo.
“ We play to our strengths every time we play fast. We have a lot of guys who can run. So we have to run and pass the ball around “, demands Scottie Barnes, not troubled by the idea of playing without a professional leader: “ We have a lot of guys who can carry the ball, as long as we run our offense and make the right choices, everything will be fine. Cross the center line quite quickly and try to run. »
His coach believes that he has a “ High IQ » to meet this challenge.
“ He knows how to handle these situations. Good communication with teammates, organizing ourselves, at what pace to play. This is all great for downtime or watching footage the next day. But having him on the ground, he becomes a general. This has a lot of value », finishes his coach.
| Scottie Barnes | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2021-22 | TOR | 74 | 35 | 49.2 | 30.1 | 73.5 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 7.5 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 15.3 |
| 2022-23 | TOR | 77 | 35 | 45.6 | 28.1 | 77.2 | 2.3 | 4.3 | 6.6 | 4.8 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 15.3 |
| 2023-24 | TOR | 60 | 35 | 47.5 | 34.1 | 78.1 | 2.4 | 5.9 | 8.2 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 19.9 |
| 2024-25 | TOR | 4 | 34 | 46.0 | 18.2 | 73.9 | 2.5 | 5.2 | 7.8 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 19.2 |
| Total | 215 | 35 | 47.3 | 30.9 | 76.3 | 2.4 | 5.0 | 7.4 | 4.7 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 16.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
