Raptors' Barnes emerging as franchise cornerstone with hot start

DALLAS — A year ago at this time, the common chatter around the NBA was 'What’s up with Scottie Barnes?'

Twelve months later the question remains the same, but the context is entirely different. After a lacklustre follow-up to his ebullient rookie year, Barnes has been one of the most exciting stories in the NBA in the opening weeks of the season.

What's up with Scottie Barnes?

Pretty much everything. The 22-year-old out of Florida State is coming off his latest masterpiece in what is shaping up to be a season worthy of a gallery show. On Sunday in San Antonio — in an afternoon start designed to showcase French star Victor Wembanyama for a prime-time European viewing audience — Barnes stole the show.

The final stat line was impressive: 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three blocks, three steals and five made threes.

Those kinds of outings simply don’t fall from trees. He’ll get his chance to follow it on Wednesday in Dallas as the Raptors take on the Mavericks on their third date of a four-game road swing. But before that, it’s worth reflecting on what Barnes did Sunday and what it could mean going forward.

Barnes's overall game was one for the ages. In fact, until Barnes did it on Sunday, no one had put up a line with those totals (or more) in NBA history.

Even if you back out the five-made threes — which trims out multiple generations of league greats who played when even taking five threes in a game was a feat (Barnes took 10 Sunday) — the ability to score, rebound, pass, and make plays defensively at the volume the Raptors forward (guard? centre?) did on Sunday is incredibly rare.

Only 23 players have ever matched a 30-11-6-3-3 stat line. It’s only happened 40 times in league history and only once in the past five seasons.

But more significant is that through seven games — and further if you want to count his dominant pre-season play — Barnes's latest game is simply representative of the level he’s been at all season.

The 2021 NBA rookie-of-the-year is set to blow past his career-best marks in nearly every category if he can maintain anything close to the pace he’s on now.

But it’s more than just the production. Barnes is playing with a fervour and a confidence that only top performers are able to muster.

A pro scout who has seen Barnes multiple times already this season says his performance and the fire with which he’s playing has been eye-popping.

“What stands out? Everything!” the scout said via text.

“He’s a whole different player. He’s bigger and stronger but hasn’t lost any of his mobility or agility. His shot is much, much smoother and in better balance. And most importantly he’s hungrier. He seems to be on some kind of mission.”

There is no better example than his fourth quarter against the Spurs. Barnes — like the rest of his teammates — was having a sub-par afternoon to that point. The Raptors had trailed by as many as 22 points and started the fourth quarter down 15. Barnes was 3-of-12 from the floor, 2-of-6 from three and was on his way to a pretty 'blah' afternoon.

But he wasn't having that.

"We needed a spark," he said. "I knew I needed to start doing something."

This is what he did:

11:27: Pull-up jumper from the top of the key, the Raptors trail by 15.

9:57: Blocks what was a wide-open three by Spurs sharp-shooter Doug McDermott, who finished 4-of-8 from three for the game. Raptors down 12.

9:23: Steals an errant entry pass, makes a hit-ahead pass to Malachi Flynn who gets fouled and makes both free throws. Raptors trail by 12.

9:04: Runs break and finds Gary Trent Jr. for a corner three. Spurs lead by nine.

8:12: Gradey Dick almost loses the ball on the baseline under pressure from Wembanyama but recovers and whistles a side-arm pass to Barnes in the opposite corner. Barnes makes three, Raptors down by eight.

7:43: Barnes takes a pull-up three in transition. Toronto cuts Spurs lead to seven.

7:05: In perhaps his signature moment of the game, Barnes out-races everyone to the offensive glass and then patiently backs Spurs wing Jeremy Sochan under the rim before turning and dunking over him. Raptors trail by five.

5:57: Barnes sneaks in for another offensive rebound and finds Trent Jr. wide-open for a three. Toronto is down two.

At this point Barnes has scored or assisted on 18 points in six minutes, mostly while playing with Toronto’s second unit. He goes to the bench briefly, and when he returns to live action, the Raptors are trailing by eight with 3:26 to play.

2:49: Barnes hits a pair of free throws after being fouled on a drive, Raptors trail by five.

1:05: Barnes blows by Wembanyama for a dunk, Spurs lead is three.

38 seconds: Barnes pulls up for a three in transition. He later says he thought Toronto was down four but was trying to "make something happen" when he let his last three fly. When it went in and he saw the score was tied, "I was like, okay, let’s go!"

One second: With the game tied, Barnes reads the Spurs inbounds play from across the floor and closes like a free safety to make the interception. He calls timeout the moment he has possession, preserving the clock for one last shot.

0.9 seconds: Barnes frees himself for the inbounds pass, turns and shoots a one-legged fadeaway that very nearly drops. It rolls off and the Raptors go to overtime where they go on to win after trailing by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter.

To summarize, Barnes's fourth-quarter tally was as follows:

• 17 points on eight shots (3-of-4 from three).
• Two offensive rebounds that directly led to teammates' threes.
• Two assists (on both teammates' threes).
• Two steals (one leading to a pair of made free throws).
• Two blocked shots.

He scored, assisted, or otherwise generated 25 of the Raptors' 39 fourth-quarter points and was plus-17 for his 11 minutes as the Raptors came back from down 17 to tie the game and win in overtime.

It’s hard to play better.

"He is not shying away from those moments," said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. "He's craving those moments and I’m blessed to have a player like Scottie to put him in those situations."

Is it sustainable? That's the question. It's a long season though Barnes's efforts to work on his strength and stamina in the off-season seem to be paying off.

The leading variable has to be his three-point shooting. It looks comfortable, natural and repeatable.

Said one NBA scout, when reached via text, Barnes being more deliberate about "getting his feet set and body balanced before taking a perimeter shot."

"And then that also gives him a better base to shot fake and drive," he added.

From Barnes's perspective, knocking down more than 42 per cent of his threes on over five attempts a game is part of a virtuous circle. He's confident in his approach, sees results, and has only more reason to stick with the process.

"I just stay confident each and every single one. Knowing that I can make those shots. I work on it every single day," he said of his shooting. "…staying confident, staying ready to shoot those shots and stepping into it. You just gotta have that confidence."

Barnes has every reason to be confident, and the Raptors have every reason to believe he’s the franchise cornerstone they hoped they were getting when they chose him fourth overall in 2021.

What’s up with Scottie Barnes? How about being mentioned as an all-star and a most-improved player award? How about a chance to put his stamp on a team and run with it?