John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Scottie Barnes & Pascal Siakam Show Future is Bright for Raptors in Victory Over Heat
It turns out Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes can play together after all.
There’s been talk about the viability of the two forwards playing together dating back even to draft night 2021. Can two so similarly skilled and ideally ball-dominant players flourish alongside one another? Does the spacing work with Siakam and Barnes on the court together? OK, one game doesn’t exactly prove or disprove anything, but Tuesday’s 106-92 victory over the Miami Heat is exactly what the Raptors have been talking about for years now.
"I think that it all boils down to some good spacing, cutting, passing, catching, finishing," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Siakam and Barnes playing together. "Those guys, I thought, did a good job of getting off the basketball."
Does it get clunky at times?
Yes.
The first few minutes Tuesday certainly showed that as Toronto fell behind by double-digits early and started the game 0-for-10 from the three-point range. It’s certainly not ideal having two sub-par three-point shooters as the cornerstones of the franchise. But when it works, it’s beautiful.
Barnes took care of the heavy lifting early. He single-handedly got Toronto going in the first quarter after a disastrous start, connecting on a pair of mid-range jumpers, the kind he’s struggled with so often this season. Siakam found him at the free-throw line for a turnaround 12-footer before Barnes put Toronto ahead by one with a transition one-handed slam after Precious Achiuwa put the clamps on Victor Oladipo to force a turnover.
At one point, Barnes even took a page out of Siakam’s playbook, taking Tyler Herro off the dribble before hitting the Miami guard with a spin move for a pair. It was all part of an 18-point first half from Barnes who had the highlight of the night, throwing down a putback slam over Bam Adebayo.
"He makes good cuts and things like that and I think for me, I just make the right play or at least I try," said Siakam. "He seems to be in the right position and he can also make plays, so yeah, that helps."
Siakam opened the second half drawing the Miami defense in before whizzing a pass to Barnes for a bucket in the paint as the two navigated Toronto's lack of spacing with precision. Barnes returned the favor moments, finding his All-Star teammate for a pair en route to a career-high 12 assist, 22-point performance, as Toronto began to pull away in the second half.
"If you're a pass-first guy and you want to pass you're gonna have to score some," said Nurse.
For Barnes, the on-off numbers with Siakam have been impressive. Barnes’ True Shooting percentage is 6% better when Siakam is on the court, his shot quality is better alongside Siakam, and he generates more points per possession with Siakam around, per PBP Stats.
"He draws a lot of attention. Of course, he scores the ball really well, but he also has a high IQ to be able to pass out of the double teams when he sees them coming very early," Barnes said of Siakam. "It just creates for everybody else. So minus two on the ball, four-on-three out there so it's easier to score.”
The reverse isn’t exactly true for Siakam, but the difference is negligible and Toronto came into Tuesday outscoring teams by 2.8 points per 100 possessions when the two are on the court together.
That trend no doubt continued against the Heat who, without Jimmy Butler, couldn't seem to find an answer for Toronto's forwards. Siakam led the Raptors with 26 points, nailing a step-back jumper off a Barnes assist with five minutes to go to put Toronto up 17 and just about end any hope of a Heat comeback.
O.G. Anunoby added 22 points, connecting on four three-pointers while Chris Boucher and Precious Achiuwa teamed eight and 12 points off the bench, respectively.
With the victory, the Raptors pull to .500 for the first time since Dec. 9 and stay even with the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth seed in the East, trailing only on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Miami is still a little out of reach considering its relatively easy upcoming schedule but the margin has narrowed to just two games separating Toronto and the Heat.
Up Next: Philadelphia 76ers
The Raptors will have a couple of days off before starting the final road trip of the year Friday night in Philadelphia at 7 p.m. ET
