Raptors Want to Look at Big Picture, Not Box Score Stats to Judge Scottie Barnes This Year
There was a moment midway through last season that Steve Kerr just snapped. His Golden State Warriors had just ended a three-game skid and a reporter wanted Kerr's "overall impression" of James Wiseman's night.
"I forgot we have to do the James Wiseman report card," Kerr replied sarcastically. "Let's make sure we all talk about this tomorrow and re-do the report card tomorrow and the following day as well."
Such is life on a lackluster team with a highly touted first-round draft pick.
Now, for the first time in nearly a decade, the Toronto Raptors are heading into a very similar season. The biggest stories coming into this year aren't so much about wins, losses, and playoff chances as they are about the development of a very young and promising group. How does Scottie Barnes look? How does Malachi Flynn look? Is OG Anunoby taking a step forward on the offensive end?
If Day 1 of training camp is any indication, those questions have already begun for Raptors coach Nick Nurse.
"He looked great today," Nurse said of Barnes' first official day of practice. "Handled it like a lot of young players do. He was super excited. He was very enthusiastic all the way through. But also understands there's a lot of learning going on."
That learning is going to take some time this season. Development never happens linearly and there will be growing pains, especially early on. Look no further than Wiseman's difficult rookie season with the Warriors. The key, however, will be how Barnes responds to those difficulties, how he adapts to the "huge" role the Raptors are planning to give him.
To Nurse, Barnes’ development isn’t going to come down to box score stats. He doesn’t care so much about the points per game or traditional numbers as he wants to see growth from Barnes this season.
“I’d probably judge him by the amount of minutes he logs this year,” Nurse said Tuesday. “That's the way he's going to get better is being on the floor.”
So far that development has looked good, Nurse said. The organization has made a few mechanical tweaks to Barnes’ shooting stroke to get him to shoot off two fingers and those things are coming along.
“It’s just about getting reps at this point. I feel like I’m getting better at it every single day,” Barnes said.
What’s clear is the Raptors’ rookie is confident in the organization’s plan for him. He understands that this year is going to have its ups and downs and that nitpicking his performance every single night isn’t going to be what this year is all about.
“It’s gonna be a process,” he said. “I’m not really worried about it. I trust my game.”
Further Reading
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