Raptors Takeaways: Barnes' return highlights otherwise ugly loss

The long wait to watch Scottie Barnes play basketball again is over. Meaningful basketball? Basketball in a game that resembles NBA action? Well, give it another week or two. But Barnes got his first game action since March 1 on Friday, and he showed a little bit of everything you remember, and even some of what you’ve been hoping for.

Barnes wasted no time making his presence felt against the Washington Wizards, opening up each half with big plays that sent the Wizards scrambling for quick timeouts (68 and 57 seconds into the respective halves).

In the game’s opening few plays, Barnes used a Jakob Poeltl screen to find his way into a bucket in the paint, then walked into a pull-up mid-range jumper with a newfound smoothness and quickness of mechanics, then connected with Poeltl on a nice transition feed. It was 6-2 Raptors in a blink, and while the rest of his first stint didn’t go quite as well – Barnes picked up three quick fouls and was charged with a few early turnovers – he looked calm, strong, and decisive at both ends of the floor.

In the second half, Barnes picked off a pass and took it for a bucket the other way. A few moments later, he appeared upset at a no-call on a Corey Kispert contest of one of his shots, and so Barnes came back on defence, jumped a passing lane, and took it the other way to get his bucket back. And yes, he did so with the Scottie Stutter, that move where he’s alone on the break and stops, looks back at no defenders running back, and then slowly dunks it.

The only thing Barnes didn’t get to show in his 20 minutes was his 3-point shot as he missed all five of his attempts from outside. Even still, the comfort with his mid-range package was encouraging, and we know 3-point shooting will come and go over the course of the year; it was his first real (well, almost real) action in over seven months. Barnes went 7-of-10 inside the arc (for 16 points), got to the free-throw line a couple of times, and picked up eight rebounds, often pushing the tempo in transition after coming down with them.

It's a good thing Barnes looked fun, because everything else was a bit ugly. Or a lot ugly. The first quarter saw the two teams combine for 18 fouls, 23 free-throw attempts, 19 turnovers … and just 12 made field goals. By the end, both teams had surpassed 20 turnovers. The Wizards veterans never looked particularly interested in defence, and the Raptors youngsters never looked particularly capable of taking advantage of a fairly steady diet of open threes.

There’s plenty of work still to do for everyone. On Friday, the most important thing was that Barnes was able to be a part of that work, and he looked like the leading force the team will need him to be.

Oh, the Raptors lost 113-95. They’ll have to settle this with Washington in the regular season after splitting the exhibition pair.

Scouting notes

• Chris Boucher was the first player off the bench again, and he once again delivered on the opportunity. His place in the rotation may be due to a combination of teammate availability and, on Sunday, wanting him to get a nice ovation in Montreal. If he plays like this, though, it’s going to be hard to play other options ahead of him.

Boucher went 7-of-10 and hit three triples in 19 minutes, leading the team with 22 points and adding seven rebounds. He’s always infectious with his energy, and we’ve seen a sharper version of Boucher so far this year. Someone a bit more confident in their defensive assignment and with an improved sense of spacing and timing for cuts or corner-to-corner runs to get open.

• Bruno Fernando shot 2-of-9 and struggled at times with Jonas Valanciunas, who is a pretty good test if you’re trying to evaluate a big for your final roster spot. Lack of finish aside, Fernando fights hard for rebounds and has good hands low in his defensive space. His inside track on the final roster spot would be a bit more secure if some of those put-backs and post-ups found their way in. (I have less faith that a play where Shead is the screener/roller and kicks out to Fernando for three will be a reliable part of the playbook.)

• Jonathan Mogbo continued to show flashes, while not playing very well overall. The passing vision is really intriguing, as he makes reads in transition or low on the floor that a lot of young forwards don’t. Right now, the savvy and length of NBA defences – and him not commanding as much attention on the ball – is making those passing windows feel very tight for him. It’s something that some G League time could help with, even if he’s in the NBA rotation at times.

He also had a nice screen-switch-seal-dunk sequence that showed some of his skill versatility. You can see what’s there, it’s just going to take some time.

• Davion Mitchell only scored three points on 1-of-3 shooting but dished six assists in his 27 minutes and did a good job as the offence’s primary non-Barnes operator. He was a bit underrated as a pick-and-roll passer, I think because he didn’t quite play at the pace the Kings wanted to. There’s more there as a playmaker than he always got to show.

• Jamal Shead, meanwhile, had a very rough shooting night, 1-of-8 from the field and 0-of-5 on threes – but remained a pest on defence and shows a good knack for punching quickly into the paint in a way the Raptors’ other guards don’t (other than D.J. Carton, though he had a rough one shooting, too).

• Raptors bigs seem to be emphasizing the “Gortat screen” early on. A Gortat screen is when the big – usually one who is not a lob threat -- sets his initial screen, then when he rolls to the paint, he screens his own man (the opposing big) if he’s in drop coverage. Done effectively, this can create a new or larger driving lane for the ball-handler and prevent the would-be rim-protector from being in position to contest a shot.

Guards who like to snake in the lane, in particular, can benefit from this secondary screening action low to the basket.

You, a Raptor fan, surely recall being angry when Marcin Gortat would get away with this move with the Wizards; Raptors bigs will have to tread carefully, as these screens are often only borderline legal.

• However many positives there may be with the offensive process, the team is going to need somebody to step up as a shooter. Gradey Dick was 2-of-5 from outside, and while the inside-the-arc verve is nice (he had a great pump-fake-into-middy going left out of a dribble hand-off), Toronto needs that 40-percent mark to be a regular one.

Outside of Dick and Boucher, the Raptors shot 2-of-22 from long-range. (One of those came from Jamison Battle, too, and he’s likely 905-bound.) Obviously, the Raptors were playing down a few guys who can hit threes, but it doesn’t figure to be a strength even at full health.

• The Wizards don’t have a ton going on for them, but they do have a number of good young shooters. Corey Kispert belongs on a good team as a high-end role player sooner than later, Kyshawn George looks like a real prospect with a combination of strength and shooting and Alex Sarr is at least going to be able to shoot out of the gate. Bilal Coulibaly is a pretty fun defender, too.

Injury updates

• Immanuel Quickley remained out due to the sprained thumb he suffered in workouts before training camp began. While it was initially hoped it wouldn’t cost him much time, as of Thursday Quickley still had not been cleared for full contact, so he’ll end up missing at least half of the pre-season. Considering the chemistry between him and Scottie Barnes is probably the single biggest thing I was watching for on offence this pre-season, that’s a little disappointing. Hopefully, Quickley is a full-go by the season opener in 12 days.

• RJ Barrett (shoulder) did not play and is out for at least the remainder of the pre-season. Ja’Kobe Walter (shoulder) has been on the shelf with a similar injury since just before camp and is yet to get into game action. Bruce Brown (knee) remains without a clear timeline but isn’t particularly close.

The recovery range for a sprained AC joint can vary wildly, and we don’t have enough information to peg down a firm timeline for Barrett or Walter. If those two and Brown are all out for the season opener, Rajakovic has an interesting starting lineup decision to make – Dick was the presumed favourite for the fifth starter role, and the cascade effect of multiple wing/guard injuries could open up an opportunity for Mitchell to start in a two-guard lineup (with Shead looking capable of handling some of the backup role). Agbaji would be another possibility.

• Kelly Olynyk and Garrett Temple were with the team and in warmup gear but officially listed as inactive. This is almost surely a case of vets not needing all five games to tune up, giving the team a longer look at other players.

• Jordan Poole left the game in the first half after taking an inadvertent hit to the head from Kyle Kuzma but returned in the second half. Malcolm Brogdon (thumb ligament surgery) and Saddiq Bey (ACL from last year) were the only other inactives for Washington.

WNBA Finals note

Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday was an all-timer, both for great plays and missed opportunities. Our Liberty nearly survived a rough Sabrina Ionescu game and were a Breanna Stewart free-throw at the fourth-quarter buzzer from winning. In the end, Napheesa Collier and the Lynx won out in overtime, taking advantage of that second life (which followed a wild four-point play to get there in the first place).

Game 2 should be a banger, especially if their respective sides get stronger shooting nights from Ionescu and Canadian star Bridget Carleton (who had a quiet opener scoring-wise but remains a factor with her gravity). Collier and Jonquel Jones both turned in excellent Game 1s, something that will probably be consistent throughout the series; from there, the Liberty feel like a deeper and stronger team, but losing Game 1 at home in a best-of-five Finals puts you in an immediate back-against-the-wall situation.

The move to a seven-game series next year is a very welcome change.

Javon Freeman-Liberty is back … with the Bulls

The former Raptors guard was released by his Turkish team this week, freeing him to sign a deal with the Chicago Bulls, per a source. (The type of contract was not immediately available information, as the deal is contingent upon FIBA clearance.)

It’s a cool next step in Freeman-Liberty’s story. A Chicago native, he started his pro career as a walk-on with the Windy City Bulls of the G League, eventually getting noticed at the following Summer League and earning a two-way deal with the Raptors. The Raptors eventually converted him to an NBA deal that extended into this season but, facing a partial guarantee trigger in the contract, opted to waive him in July.

Freeman-Liberty appeared for two games with Manisa, and now will try to get back to the NBA via Bulls’ camp and potentially the G League once again.

What’s next

The Raptors up the difficulty level on Sunday with a visit to Boston to play the defending champs (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet). They’ll get a second look at the Celtics back at home on Tuesday for their lone pre-season game at Scotiabank Arena (also on Sportsnet). The pre-season wraps with a road game against the Nets on Oct. 18, then we get started for real back in Toronto on Oct. 23 against the Cavaliers.

On a programming note, The Raptors Show returns Tuesday – now with Matt Bonner alongside me -- and will be daily for the remainder of the year, 11 a.m. - noon ET on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+, and wherever you get your podcasts. Bobby Webster will be joining us on Tuesday, with Ochai Agbaji and Jonathan Mogbo joining (via pre-tapes) later in the week.