The Scottie Barnes leap is here. He was phenomenal in the Raptors win against the San Antonio Spurs.
Barnes led the Raptors to a 22-point comeback on the road. He scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and had plenty of clutch moments.
Barnes has scored 20+ points in 6 straight games and leads the Raptors in points, rebounds and blocks.
As a result of his stellar play, Barnes was a nominee for the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week:
Scottie Barnes was an EC Player of the Week nominee. Jayson Tatum wins it, with Steph Curry getting it out West.
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) November 6, 2023
This past week Barnes averaged 23.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists while shooting 47.9% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range.
For the season Barnes is averaging 22.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists on 60.9 true shooting percentage. If Barnes continues to play at this pace, he’ll surely be well on his way to winning Eastern Conference Player of the Week at some point this season.
Barnes rises in MIP odds
Scottie Barnes has burst onto the scene. He is now the second most likely player to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player this season, according to sportsbooks. He sits at +600 on DraftKings. Only Tyrese Maxey at +200 has shorter odds to win the award.
Barnes has gotten substantially better so far this season. He has increased his points per game from 15.3 last year to 22.6 this season.
His rebounding has gone up by three per game and he’s increased his assists from 4.8 to 5.9 per game.
The biggest difference in Barnes’ game so far this season has been his much-improved shooting.
Last season Barnes shot it 45.6 percent from the field compared to 51.3 percent this season. Also, his shooting percentage from deep has gone up drastically. Barnes shot it only 28.1 percent from three and now he’s currently shooting it at 42.1 percent from downtown. If Barnes keeps up these numbers, he will have a great chance to win the Most Improved Player award.
Pascal Siakam is the only player to win the Most Improved Player award in Raptors franchise history.
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