All injuries suck, but Scottie Barnes going down in the midst of a red-hot third quarter as the Raptors were firmly outplaying the Knicks on Monday night mega-sucked.
Firstly, you feel for Barnes, man. Any time the words “oh my god” and “I can’t feel my foot” leave a guy’s mouth, the sports go out the window; you just hope it’s not as bad as it looks. Thankfully, Darko Rajaković passed along after the game that the x-rays performed on Barnes came back negative. Phew. And yet, still an enormous bummer, and another delay in getting a look at this ever-more-interesting team at full tilt.
Barnes has been nails since coming back from his last stint on the shelf, driving winning minutes and generally looking the part of a franchise guy. But 10 games isn’t exactly the full-season proof of concept this year was supposed to provide, and we’re no closer to watching Barnes work with RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley by his side. Let’s hope this isn’t the basketball equivalent of The Great Pumpkin.
Now, Toronto stares down another indefinite stretch without Barnes. Quickley remains a ways off, so there’s no real aid coming in the shot creation department, either. They were 2-9 when Barnes sat out with a broken orbital bone in November, and without his all-over impact, the win rate probably won’t improve much for however long the ankle sprain keeps him out — lotto freaks rejoice.
If you recall, though, the Raps were still a pretty tight watch during Barnes’ last absence. And thanks to some shiny new toys joining the party in recent weeks, there’s a chance the Barnes-less Raptors are even more of a riot than they were on the last go ‘round without their best player.
Kelly Olynyk is here, and he’s a hell of a stabilizer — the diametric opposite of Chris Boucher, who played a whole lot of minutes the last time Barnes sat, and has since been knocked down the rotation ladder. Olynyk’s package of skills is an easy fit with most guys, and Jonathan Mogbo’s no exception. While it’ll be a shame to not see more of the Olynyk-Mogbo-Barnes Total Passing front court for a bit, the vet and the rook are two snugly adjoined puzzle pieces in how they offset each others weak points, and we’re just in the fledgling days of that potentially beautiful partnership.
Olynyk makes the Raptors’ offense more elastic, and is probably one of the three or four best passers on a team with a lot of dudes who can dish it. If Barnes sitting means we get to watch Gradey Dick and Olynyk work some stellar two-man action like they did Monday night to keep second units afloat, that’ll do just fine, thank you.
Also adding some spice to the bench is Ja’Kobe Walter, who may well start in Barnes’ place if the matchup is right. Ignore his season-long numbers; they’ll normalize, and they belie his impact. As with any rookie, it’s all about the pops — the little stretches that showcase what a guy can do that you hope can one-day be strung together for more than mere spurts as time matures. In the moments where Walter’s looked good, he’s looked good; case in point, the Knicks game. Walter poured in 14 first-half points on his way to a career-high 19, and was pivotal to Toronto’s second quarter surge that staked them a lead.
His three point shot — the thing his game was sold on — has been off to start his career. That he’s shown such promise in other departments, from his defensive footwork to a nose for rebounding and some butter smooth pull-up work from the mid-range, makes the package all the more enticing once the triples start dropping.
“He’s putting a lot of work in. He’s a good shooter, those situations happen to young players,” said coach Rajaković of Walter after he broke the dam and canned 3-of-7 on Monday. “He continues believing in it, we believe in his shot, I’m encouraging him to take all of those... short-term memory, you miss a shot you move on, you make a shot you move on, and he’s that type of a shooter that he can do that for us.”
Olynyk and Walter now join the hard-working, ragtag bunch that kept things competitive the last time Barnes sat. Mogbo is gaining more feel by the day, and is another candidate to start in Barnes’ place, just a tad more seasoned that he was in early November when he earned just one start in lieu of Toronto’s injured All-Star before returning to “eff stuff up” duty off the bench. Jakob Poeltl’s as steady as ever, and we know Dick is eager to go Legolas on everyone’s ass when the team needs it.
And boy do we love a rampaging RJ Barrett, even if he’s a bit overburdened as as number one. Hell, if the Raps can trick him into thinking the Knicks are his opponent each night in this coming stretch, we’ll be in for something pretty special. RJ nearly nudged his new team over the finish line against his old pals with what looked like a pure lust for vengeance.
He’ll need to tap into his newfound pick-and-roll craft and try to ward off the finishing yips that dogged him when Barnes last missed time, but we know if nothing else, RJ and that perpetual chip on his shoulder will at least produce some moments worth savouring if Barnes is on the shelf for a bit.
Barnes or not, the give-a-damn gauge of this team is always full. This is a squad designed to make the best of bad situations. Now they get another shot to prove it, though hopefully, Basketball Gods be good, for not too long.
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Today on the podcast I’ll get into the Raptors’ thrilling loss to the Knicks, which may come at a later drop time than usual due to some tech difficulties. Stay tuned!
