Raptors film room: Scottie Barnes dominates with point guard duties
Scottie Barnes dominated the New Orleans Pelicans with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists in a big win for the Raptors that pushed them to 41 wins on the season. It’s the 15th time in franchise history that they have gone .500 or better in a season.
To recap this game:
Here’s Samson’s recap:
In addition to Barnes’ maximal, box-score-stuffing performance, Ja’Kobe Walter put together a wonderful no frills performance as a newly minted starter. A couple possessions where he was experimental off the bounce, yes, but more than anything he made himself available as a cutter and shooter (efficient versions of both) and was a badgering presence on opposing ball handlers. It was great stuff from the Raptors sophomore.
Also of note, for the people who are paying attention to Gradey Dick, he is out of the serious rotation. Why I bring him up is because the player drafted after him, and the other contender for “best shooter” in the 2023 NBA draft, Jordan Hawkins, well he played a fair bit for the Pelicans. It’s kind of incredible that both these guys put up incredible college shooting performances, and both have completely lost the ability to shoot at a high, or even passable level. They’re not even similar shooting types either, so you can’t mark it down as trouble for future scouting purposes. Different players, different shooters – both building expansive brick houses in the NBA. Anyway.
It was a very comfortable close to the game for the Raptors. They poured it on, and without asking much of themselves. Well timed passes. Well timed cuts. Intentional, smart play. They were where they needed to be at the end. With a bit over 2 minutes to play Coach Darko called a timeout with a 20-point lead and emptied the bench. Victory cigars all around. More games like this en route to the end of the season, and hopefully to avoiding the play-in tournament.
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