Raptors' Scottie Barnes not ready to give up on the good times just yet

ORLANDO – Are we having fun yet?

The Toronto Raptors are stubbornly clinging to that the idea that yes, in fact, there is still fun to be had even as the inexplicable losses mount and the hopes for a fast start building on last season’s strong finish are fading.

Even as the most fun part of last season – the almost daily blossoming of then rookie Scottie Barnes – slows down, overtaken by the reality of the NBA grind: sure, the defending rookie of the year may well be destined for big things, but reaching his potential takes time and work, and comes without guarantees.

But Barnes isn’t ready to give up on the good times. Not yet.

He is at once aware that his second season hasn’t unfolded in the way that might have been envisioned – say "progression" rather than "perceived regression" – but at the same time optimistic that it’s a bug, not a feature.

“Yeah. Me personally, I’m having a lot of fun,” said Barnes after a long practice Saturday, the response to Toronto being beaten fairly convincingly, 113-109, by the lowly Orlando Magic the night before. “I’m having a great amount of fun. (People) probably don’t think that. But I feel like I have a lot of fun out there every time I step on the floor.

“I’m not worried about what’s happening. I feel like we’re going to be good. We’re just still fixing things, still got to be better on both ends of the floor, get the party moving on the offensive end and just keep sticking to our defence, guarding the ball and playing our brand of basketball that we usually play.”

What that brand is, exactly, is getting harder to pin down. When the Raptors stormed up the Eastern Conference standings last season with a 25-11 record to finish the year, it involved a combination of forcing opponents’ turnovers to fuel their own offense (the Raptors were first in opponents’ turnovers percentage from Jan. 28 on) and a strong effort to bother shooters if the turnovers didn’t come (the Raptors were 12th in opponents’ effective field goal percentage over the same period).

Barnes was in the middle of the whole thing as a playmaking defender, opportunistic scores and intuitive passer. He played with joy and was fun to watch.

This season? The Raptors are still the best team in the league at forcing turnovers, but teams have easy time of it when they don’t cough up the ball, as the Raptors are 27th in opponents' effective field-goal percentage, barely ahead of the tanking San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.

In that sense, the loss to the Magic – who came into the game with the league’s worst record and 27th-ranked offense – was very on-brand for the current Raptors, at least.

Toronto forced 20 turnovers but was undone because Orlando shot 59.2 per cent from the floor, 38.5 per cent from three for an effective field-goal percentage (a statistic that reflects the value of two and three-point shots) of 66.2 percent, compared to their season average of 53 per cent.

It’s unfair to lay all of this at the feet of Barnes, who is still just 21 years old, has yet to play his 100th NBA game and is producing – statistically at least – at level fairly consistent with his rookie-of-the-year season when adjusted for minutes played. A year ago, Barnes averaged 15.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per 36 minutes on 49.2 per cent shooting. This season? Barnes is as 15.3/7.9/5.2, albeit with some higher turnover numbers and on 45.4 per cent shooting.

There is blame to go around. Fred VanVleet remains mired in a horrible shooting slump, converting just 23.5 per cent of his three-point attempts since the middle of November and O.G. Anunoby – for all his contributions defensively and elsewhere – is at 27.1 per cent from three over the same period. Gary Trent Jr. has played himself to the bench and rookie Christian Koloko may join him as it’s becoming increasingly clear that being cast as a starter – even if temporarily until Precious Achiuwa (ankle) is ready to return – is asking too much of the rookie seven-footer.

But one of the main reasons to be bullish on the Raptors heading into this season was the Barnes would be a better player this season than he was last, and so far he hasn’t been.

And there have been concerns that the fun-loving competitor who seemed to vibrate through games last season and getting under the skin of some of the sports’ biggest names – Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Nikola Jokic among them – has gone missing.

He was benched for the first regular season game of his career nearly two weeks ago against the Cleveland Cavaliers (the Raptors' best defensive effort of the season) after a long stretch of uninspired play, and responded with the worst game of his career against the New Orleans Pelicans in a Raptors' blowout loss.

It was at that point that Barnes was given some hard truths by Raptors president Masai Ujiri, according to multiple sources, during a meeting when the team was in Brooklyn. He responded with some strong efforts, including his two best rebounding games of the season and a line of 17 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 58.3 per cent shooting over four games before his outing against Orlando.

But it’s not that Barnes managed just six points, six rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes against the Magic, and didn’t make a steal, block a shot or a grab a rebound and lead the break; it’s that he was quickly pulled in the third quarter by Nurse and that he was team-worst minus-24 for the game and that he was no match defensively for the Magic’s young wings, rookie Paolo Banchero or Franz Wagner, the latter of whom was taken No. 8 overall in 2021, four spots behind Barnes.

Making judgments based on body language is a fool’s errand, but it hardly seems to be out of line to wonder what happened to the competitive effervescence that seemed to be on constant display last season.

Barnes said he’s the same guy, regardless of what people think they see.

“I don’t know how I look,” he said. “I know how I feel when I’m out there on the floor. I can be focused and still have fun at the same time. I feel like I’m having fun. I guess (people) can say differently. I’m focused on the floor, trying to win games.

“I feel like when people watch us play, you see the way we play. We have a lot of different talented and gifted scorers on our team. So, every night’s just not your night,” he said. “That’s the main thing people look at. I impact the game in different ways. It’s not just about scoring. We have a lot of different scorers on the team. So, every night’s just not going to be your night. Unless you’re probably Pascal. He knows how to put that ball in the basket. So, every night’s going to be Pascal’s night.

Barnes is right about that part. Siakam – who had 36 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and a huge block late in the fourth quarter against Orlando – has been the Raptors' best and most consistent performer this season.

But for the Raptors to reach the peak of their fun potential, Barnes – and others – are going to have to join Siakam at the party. So far this season, Barnes might believe he’s having a good time, the standings – Toronto's 13-13 record has them in ninth place -- say otherwise.