When the Toronto Raptors drafted Scottie Barnes fourth overall in the recent NBA draft, a lot of Raps fans were confused.
“Wait, don't we have Pascal Siakam? Aren't the two basically just the same players?”
Indeed, a lot of fans and draft insiders were pegging the Raptors to take Jalen Suggs with the fourth pick. The logic was that Suggs would be the successor to Kyle Lowry, who was destined to leave in the off-season. However, Masai Ujiri zagged at the last second, drafting the 6'7 Barnes while also trading Lowry as expected.
In drafting Barnes, there are concerns as to how he'd fit into the Raptors' rotation. Here, we'll talk about why there's no reason to worry about the fit, and that the Siakam-Barnes duo is actually the perfect situation for the Raptors.
Alleviating the Worries
First, let's start by talking about the reasons why people think that the Siakam-Barnes duo isn't going to pan out for the Raptors. The two main concerns are that: a) both play the same position, and b) both are sub-par shooters.
Siakam and Barnes have similar physical attributes, Barnes was listed at 6'9 by the Raptors, similar to Siakam. Both also have the same wingspan (7'3), and Barnes is just a touch lighter than Siakam (102 kg to 104 kg). The two also list themselves as power forwards who can slide down to small forward. These similarities make some people think that the two may not work together that well, similar to how other teams used to have logjams at the center position (*cough* Kemba Walker Hornets *cough*).
However, this shouldn't be as big of an issue as most people make it out to be. While both of them play the same position for now, that is likely going to change in the future. Scottie's future with the Raptors will likely not be at the 4 position, but rather at the 1. Nick Nurse has been making sure the rookie Barnes is comfortable being the primary ball-handler, running lineups in the pre-season where Barnes is the de-facto PG. Because of that, there will likely be no conflict between Barnes and Siakam's positioning in the lineup.
The other point of concern is their sub-par shooting. Last season, Siakam infamously struggled shooting from deep, shooting just below 30% from three on 4.4 attempts per game. With Barnes (whose shooting has been under scrutiny) coming in, many fans may think that having the two players on the court will cause spacing issues for the Raptors.
This shooting issue is a bit overblown, however. Siakam indeed struggled shooting from outside in 2020… but statistics show that his shooting woes last season is likely to be a fluke. Siakam shot above 35% from deep in 2019 and 2020 for the Raptors. Those aren't elite numbers, but they're above-average, and that's more than enough for defense to respect him. Siakam also shot 82% from the free throw line last season, which can point to Siakam's three-point flaws being fluky.
Barnes will be the one who has to prove he can shoot better, and there are some encouraging signs. From Day 1, the Raptors have been looking to tweak Barnes' janky shot form. There's been progress: the rookie has looked more comfortable shooting mid-rangers. The real challenge comes in the regular season. Can Barnes get a decent three-point stroke in time? Based from what we've seen, the Raptors rookie is ready to do anything to help the team.
The Upside
There's one big reason why Raptors fans should get excited about Barnes and Siakam pairing up: their defense is going to be AMAZING. Rookies are notoriously slow to adjust to the advanced defensive schemes in the NBA, but Barnes has shown the basketball IQ to be able to fit into Nurse's tried-and-testing defense perfectly. It also helps that Barnes is the exact build of the perfect NBA defender today. His large wingspan allows him to be a disruptor on defense, and with his innate instincts he's been able to wreak havoc in the pre-season games.
Pairing Scottie Barnes with Pascal Siakam, another 6'9-ish guy with a 7'3 wingspan, makes sure that the Raptors always has two top-tier defenders on the rotation. Adding OG Anunoby to that team makes them just unfair. Those are three wings with the length and the basketball IQ to terrorize small-ball lineups. With those three in the lineup, opposing teams will have a tough time hunting for mismatches to exploit.
Barnes' presence in the Raptors will also help Siakam get back to his former groove. The latter definitely has the chops to be a playmaker, but it's been clear from his championship run in Toronto that he's more comfortable scoring. Barnes' pass-first mentality will help take a huge chunk off of Siakam's workload and allow him to focus on what he does best. The opposite holds true as well: Barnes isn't comfortable quite yet scoring in the NBA, but Siakam's offensive presence will allow him to take more risks knowing that they have a first option who can score when needed.
Conclusion
All in all, I think that the concerns that fans have for the Raptors duo is a bit exaggerated. I'm not saying that these issues aren't valid: far from it, actually. These are legitimate concerns that Nick Nurse, Scottie Barnes, and Pascal Siakam needs to address. However, the concerns are not going to be deal-breakers. All of their concerns are fixable, and that's what matters for Toronto. This season is about making sure that the Barnes-Siakam duo can work, and you better believe that they'll do everything to make sure it does.
Follow Us
Subscribe