Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes had one of his best games of the season Tuesday night in a win over the Philadelphia 76ers and, apparently, Raptors fans have Matt Bonner to thank.
After dropping 33 points and making 12-of-15 free throws, career highs in both makes and attempts from the charity stripe, Barnes said his aggressiveness was partially motivated by comments Bonner made on Monday's The Raptors Show on Sportsnet.
"I just wanted to be aggressive going downhill, showing some burst and be able to just try to get past the defender,” Barnes said after Tuesday's 106-103 win over the 76ers. "I think (Monday) I was just going to ice, and I was watching Matt Bonner. He was talking about something (on The Raptors Show), talking about how I can't go to the rim, how I can't get past people. So I think that kind of motivated me a little bit as well. I was trying to get to the rim, be able to use my burst of speed, getting to the rim, getting fouled, getting free layups. Felt great today."
And although Bonner — who played for the Raptors from 2004-06 and then went on to play 10 seasons for Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs — was more than happy to see his comments "lit a fire" under Barnes, he also said his criticism was taken a bit out of context.
The clip Barnes referenced after Tuesday's game was a 25-second clip that got aggregated to Instagram from a seven-minute segment in which Bonner and co-host Blake Murphy were talking about both the strengths and weaknesses of Barnes' game.
However, as is the norm on social media these days, only the negative part was posted.
"(Barnes needs) to go to the lab, and get some moves, get some one-on-one moves," Bonner said in his criticism of Barnes on Monday's show. "He doesn't really have a tool kit. If you watch him play, he kind of just finds his way to the paint. ... But he never really gets by anyone, so (he needs) to figure out 'How do I get by my defender and get a head of steam to the paint?' Because we aren't seeing that."
Bonner's remarks on Monday's show came just after a loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday, when Barnes finished 6-of-19 from the field, 0-of-8 from distance and got to the line only four times.
But Tuesday in Philadelphia, Barnes looked like a completely different player, and Bonner said that's exactly the point he was trying to make. That the version of Barnes against the 76ers is when the 23-year-old is at his best.
"There you go, he can do it, he does have the first step, he does have the burst of speed," Bonner said in reaction to Barnes' comments on Wednesday's The Raptors Show. "This is what I've been saying, his mentality should be that, what we saw last night. He needs to bring that every night on the offensive end."
Bonner added that when Barnes attacks like he did against Philly, he has the potential to play like some of the greatest power forwards the league has ever seen.
"He's a great passer, he's a great defender, everything else," Bonner said. "He's gotta think like Giannis, like old-school LeBron: 'I need to be putting pressure on the defence at all times by being in attack mode, by trying to punish the defence.' ... That's his Plan A."
As a 12-year NBA veteran, Bonner knows a thing or two about what it's like to play against the best. Bonner said he sees greatness in Barnes' future, and his criticism was mainly made to help the 23-year-old reach his ceiling.
"Scottie has more talent in his pinky than I ever had," Bonner admitted on Wednesday. "... At the NBA level, Scottie's got it all. And I just want to see him reach his potential."
For now, we're sure Raptors fans won't mind if Barnes keeps that Instagram clip teed up for upcoming games.
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