Coming into this season Scottie Barnes had sky high expectations.
Barnes was coming off a disappointing sophomore season, but he had put in a lot of work in the offseason.
Fans were hoping that Barnes would take a leap in his third year and really solidly himself as the Raptors next great star.
Thirty games into the 2023-24 season Barnes has done exactly that, exceeding all expectations.
He had taken a third year leap and has seen his numbers increase in every statistical category:
This is unbelievable jump in statistics. Kuddos to Scottie for the work he put in the off-season. pic.twitter.com/pHU9wxa9sd
— CoachRoache (@CoachroacheT) December 28, 2023
Barnes has seen his points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game all go up.
The most impressive part about Barnes’ leap is his shooting numbers have significantly improved. Most notably his three-point shooting. Barnes has seen his three-point percentage go up from 28.1 percent to 38.9 percent. That is a staggering 10 point change.
There’s a reason why the Raptors made Barnes a non starter in trade discussions for Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard.
Barnes has shown tremendous promise and he is indeed looking like the Raptors cornerstone. One they can build around.
The numbers don’t lie. Barnes is having himself a truly special season and as a result he his garnering a lot of attention from around the league.
Hopefully Barnes can make the 2024 NBA All-Star game, despite the Raptors having a losing record.
Darko Rajakovic reveals why he changed starting lineup
Darko Rajakovic finally made a starting lineup change which saw Gary Trent Jr. replace Dennis Schroder and Scottie Barnes run the point. Rajakovic talked about why he made the decision:
“It was a change that we were looking for, for some time. It was an opportunity to put Scottie Barnes on as more of a ball-handler, but also we wanted Dennis to help more with the second unit.”
The Raptors hope this new starting lineup will lead to success down the road.
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