The Toronto Raptors invested their future into Scottie Barnes.
Last season was a testament to their belief in Barnes as they traded away Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby.
However, injuries have already plagued Toronto to begin this season. Placing more pressure on Barnes to perform as the team’s No. 1 option without Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett.
Although, Barrett made his return on Monday against the Denver Nuggets. With Nikola Jokic and company in town, the Raptors needed all hands on deck.
They got that with Barrett and Barnes leading the way. The former Florida State Seminole would put up a near triple-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists.
That was enough to put Toronto in a position to win, but Denver would make a last second effort to force the game into overtime.
Unfortunately, these kinds of losses happen to rebuilding teams as they learn how to close out games. But, Jokic took time after the game to talk about Barnes as a player.
“He’s a big tall guy who can handle the ball who is seeking for mismatches. He can put the ball downhill and find open teammates, he can post-up…he’s a really good player,” Jokic said.
While it is nice for the best player in the league to give flowers to the Raptors best player, the two stars would unfortunately collide late in the fourth quarter.
When fighting for a rebound, Jokic unintentionally elbowed Barnes in the face. This forced Barnes to miss the rest of the game as Toronto wound up losing.
With injuries continuing to pile up, the Raptors cannot afford to lose Barnes for an extended period of time.
Scottie Barnes blind ranks Raptors jerseys from over the years
Heading into the Raptors’ 30th season, they were bringing back their iconic purple jerseys worn during the Vince Carter era.
There are plenty of jerseys that were introduced throughout Toronto’s existence. Scottie Barnes blind ranked some of them in a top-10 list.
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