Is Scottie Barnes Overrated?
Scottie Barnes won rookie of the year in 2022, but are we sure he’s THAT good? The truth of the matter is, Toronto has underachieved this year and some of it is on Barnes. The Raptors sit 24-30 on the season and are about to go into sell mode. Are we sure Barnes should be part of the long term core in Toronto?
I know, it sounds crazy, but hear me out. Barnes, 22, is a young player with promise but he has a ton of warts to his game. Warts that I’m not sure will ever go away. Given the fact that Barnes already won rookie of the year, the Raptors will be given a choice. Max him or watch him go to another team in two years. It’s the same spot the Suns were in with Deandre Ayton. Barnes is going to get the max by someone. Are we sure he’s worth it?
For starters, the shooting is a massive problem. His overall field goal percentage is down and the 3-point shooting touch may never take a step forward. Barnes is shooting under 30% from 3-point range and teams aren’t even trying to respect his shot. It’s been a huge issue for the Raptors on the offensive end.
Furthermore, Barnes’ defense is extremely overstated. Yes, he’s a pretty good roamer and can help off the ball. On the ball, he’s probably a poor defender. The foot speed is average and can be seen blown by on more than one occasion.
Barnes also hasn’t taken a leap in terms of his overall offense. Once again Barnes is around the 15 points per game mark and really has only taken strides toward being a better playmaker. The only problem is he’s not good enough to be more than a third option on this average team. Do we really want the ball in his hands more often as the sole distributor?
I guess I just ask what are the expectations here. Are we positive a guy that can shoot is untouchable in this league? Yes, Barnes is young enough to where he can improve. However, we may sort of be seeing a ceiling when it comes to Barnes. Not everyone is THAT DUDE. At some point can we chill out with the Scottie Barnes thing? Until he’s a 25-point-per-game scoring with two-way defense while hitting a respectable amount of shots, then I’ll start buying into this. Until then…overrated!
