Scottie Barnes left off All-Star team
For the second time in 12 years, the Raptors are left without an All-Star.
Despite being the most recent selection as the Eastern Conference player of the week — with averages of 20/10/7 leading the Raptors to a 3-0 stretch — Scottie Barnes was not selected as an NBA All-Star. Considering the injuries he’s faced this season (the orbital bone fracture, the sprained ankle), and the broken hand that he had surgery on and needed to rehab over the summer, he was up against it.
Even when you consider the Raptors record and just how bad they’ve been over the course of the season, and the fact that Barnes hasn’t made a massive statistical leap from last year to this one, it wasn’t as easy a sell as one would think it would be with how talented Barnes is.
This season Barnes is averaging career highs in points (20.3 per game), assists (6.5 per game), and steals (1.5 per game). His numbers aren’t as loud as many might have expected, but evidenced by his player of the week award, the NBA is capable of looking a little bit past the box score numbers for Barnes to see his impact overall. A lot of that impact comes on the defensive end, but doesn’t necessarily register in the places everyone looks for stardom.
When Barnes eventually makes another All-Star team, he’ll be the 6th Raptor to be selected to the All-Star team more than once while donning the Raptors jersey – joining DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Chris Bosh, Pascal Siakam, and Vince Carter.
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