Victor Wembanyama and the revamped San Antonio Spurs looked formidable in their Sunday matinee matchup with Darko Rajakovic and the Toronto Raptors. To turn things around for Toronto, it took a masterclass from Scottie Barnes, a performance that demonstrated just how far he has come.
Toronto won their first overtime game under the Rajakovic era thanks to a 30-point, 11-rebound, six-assist performance from Barnes, who drained five 3-pointers in the process. In addition to achieving those previous totals, Barnes became the first player in NBA history to record three steals and three blocks in a single game.
One of those games where Rajakovic’s coaching was overshadowed by the action occurring in between the lines was the Spurs victory. The team’s rookie head coach, who now has even more respect for Barnes’ contributions, let him develop without interfering with the finished product.
After Barnes’ virtuoso performance against San Antonio, Rajakovic said he is “blessed to have a player like [Barnes],” which is about as good a compliment a coach in his seventh game can give a player like Barnes. Rajakovic will probably continue to express gratitude to the higher powers for having Barnes as the MIP front-runner.
The Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes is “blessed,” according to Darko Rajakovic.
This season, Barnes’ averages per game include 22.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.1 blocks. Barnes is demonstrating that Rajakovic’s offensive system is superior to Nick Nurse’s by scoring 20 points or more in all but one of his games this season and stuffing the stat sheet on both ends.
Barnes’ shortcomings from the previous season were primarily caused by two factors: a deficiency in aggression and a poor three-point shooting stroke. Rajakovic’s offense is beginning to take shape now that Scottie is shooting 42% from beyond the arc on a higher volume while attempting more shots than he did in the previous campaign.
In addition to taking command of an offense that has a tendency to become stagnant for extended periods of time, Barnes is making plays as a passer and displaying a new and improved frame with much more lean muscle. All of that is observable progress, and Rajakovic should be commended for making it possible.
For a team without draft picks, winning was always going to be the primary objective; however, the Raptors’ secondary objective was to ensure that Barnes made the necessary progress. Following the San Antonio match, Barnes verified his arrival.
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