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Post by haisan on Nov 1, 2022 1:08:18 GMT -5
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Post by sandman on Nov 1, 2022 7:53:06 GMT -5
10 years ago...
How is time flying by this quickly?
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Post by scully19 on Dec 22, 2022 22:28:30 GMT -5
Scottie gets slander too often so I like to post positive stuff.
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Post by sandman on Dec 23, 2022 2:02:39 GMT -5
I don't understand where all the hate suddenly came from.
Sophomore slump, a young guy trying to figure things out. He wasn't meant to be the savior of the franchise, he's not Lebron-level. He's a good, solid player who's learning and growing.
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Post by scully19 on Dec 23, 2022 9:33:17 GMT -5
Expectations are a dangerous thing. I think he was expected to do something like a 20/7/7 while being the primary ball handler...and also the team wins and loses be reversed. Gotta blame someone.
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Post by haisan on Dec 23, 2022 12:05:23 GMT -5
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Post by scully19 on Dec 23, 2022 13:49:25 GMT -5
I don't think so for that coming from Raptors brass. They have been famously known for being very straight forward. If they wanted a message to Scottie I think they just give it, not work through the media that they also famously don't leak to.
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Post by haisan on Jan 14, 2023 10:53:11 GMT -5
Lots of stuff in the news about Scottie’s potential for the year ahead and what that means for the team. “Positionless” was heard a lot during media day. So here’s my cynical take on Scottie: At some point in his career — there will be attempts at letting Scottie run the offense like a point guard this year and they will be underwhelming. It’s really not Scottie’s biggest strength. Scottie is, however, huge. He’s strong and had great court vision. I think he should be playing with the ball in the high post, where he can continually put pressure on the basket and force the defense to react, and when they do, then he can use his passing skills and take the opposition apart. But I fear we’re in store for some “meh” Scottie this season, with him being passive and operating too far from the basket. I just hope people realize that’s a mistake and change the focus before too much time passes. Toronto has a lot of excellent pieces … but we really need someone to put more pressure on the other team, force them into making difficult decisions … someone who can impose his will on the game. That, imho, is what Scottie can be and what he should be aiming for. Not to toot my own horn ... but I am rather pleased with this prediction, four months later. Scottie is not a point guard, he's a passing big. As Michael Grange just wrote: www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/despite-point-guard-intentions-raptors-barnes-sharp-and-focussed-as-point-centre/
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Post by freewheel on Jan 14, 2023 13:28:32 GMT -5
The idea of Barnes as a guard was always just wishful thinking by fringe fans. Mostly based on his college career. One look at him once he arrived in the NBA could tell you he was built like a tank and more suited to a forward position. Once that has been accepted then you realize that the road will have be cleared for him to play forward full time. That means one of Anunoby or Siakam has to go. However, when is the right time to pull the trigger on this deal? Raptors MUST get a massive return on any such trade because the players and hopefully picks acquired will go a long way towards defining the following half dozen seasons. Fortunately there is no rush.
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Post by scully19 on Jan 14, 2023 15:57:34 GMT -5
I think the definition of guard is loosely used. Really what is meant is that he can be the primary ball handler and that's not exactly proven wrong. He's not good enough yet but that doesn't mean he won't be. It's basically like how LeBron is a PF but on offense he's the lead playmaker.
I think the hope that Scottie can guard PGs is proving to be less likely though. He seems altogether too slow for that and that seems unlikely to change. OG however could fill that spot on defense so Scottie can defend wings or 4s.
Kind of comes down to can this team lineup a all big lineup, but this generally means who's guarding the C and who's guarding the PG. I still maintain Precious can guard C's but that generally none of them can guard a super fast guard. That's why guys like Maxey and Poole just tend to slaughter them. Maybe OG can handle it but no one else can and then any switch breaks it.
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Post by haisan on Feb 1, 2023 8:26:03 GMT -5
Big profile of Scottie over on The Ringer. Some interesting background stuff, even if it's mostly a puff piece ... although toward the end it recognizes Barnes didn't start the season well: www.theringer.com/nba/2023/2/1/23578661/scottie-barnes-toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadlineIt's kind of an odd story, to be honest. Hundreds of words praising Scottie's abilities and motor, then suddenly transitioning to how he didn't play so well in the first half of this season:
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Post by haisan on Feb 3, 2023 22:07:06 GMT -5
Scottie 46 in Bill Simmons’ trade rankings. Honestly, I’m not even that upset, given how mediocre Scottie’s been for much of the year. But one point Bill made that I liked: What Scottie is probably going to be physically in 2-3 years. A TANK. As he gets stronger and thicker, he has the potential to be a real problem. A don’t think he’ll be a point guard, but he could be an excellent passing big, like Chris Weber. nbarankings.theringer.com/trade-value
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Post by haisan on Jun 19, 2023 2:30:33 GMT -5
For what it's worth ... Here's a video of Scottie working on this 3-point shooting. Promising, I guess? We'll see what he's like after a few months of working on his form and getting up to speed. streamable.com/fhvujj
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Post by scully19 on Jun 19, 2023 19:37:45 GMT -5
For what it's worth ... Here's a video of Scottie working on this 3-point shooting. Promising, I guess? We'll see what he's like after a few months of working on his form and getting up to speed. streamable.com/fhvujjI found myself not loving his mechanics but I'm an idiot so that's forgiven. Also not sure casual dribbling the exact same way into the shot is good practice for a game where none of that will happen, but I'm going to assume he's practicing all types and it's ok. I do like that this isn't the garbage fluff you get from ben Simmons where he doesn't miss, they just showed an unedited piece and allowed his to miss shots too.
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Post by scully19 on Jul 20, 2023 10:03:02 GMT -5
A bunch of videos linked to this tweet if you go to the site itself to see.
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Post by haisan on Nov 7, 2023 2:04:13 GMT -5
Coach Thorpe talks more about Scottie Barnes in the latest Truehoops. Makes an interesting point that Scottie isn't playing with joy, but "he's playing with force." It's a pretty cool talk. From around the 36-minute mark: www.truehoop.com/p/is-everyone-missing-the-point-of
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Post by Pseudonym on Nov 7, 2023 11:39:37 GMT -5
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Post by freewheel on Nov 7, 2023 15:01:38 GMT -5
Barnes is playing great right now but I'm not yet prepared to anoint him a 1st option star player. I'm still concerned about the "best player on a bad team" factor. He's a better passer than Siakam is which weighs on the plus side, but I need to see the win loss record reflect his play. Of course there are still problems with the roster that he cant solve.
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Post by scully19 on Nov 9, 2023 13:09:39 GMT -5
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Post by scully19 on Nov 20, 2023 9:42:28 GMT -5
I don't mean this as a down on one player to bring up another, just wanted to point out that the clear #1 pick in 2021, Cade Cunningham, is struggling to keep up with the league and at this point it sure looks like Scottie was the better pick with his huge bounce this year. The Ringer did a breakdown of Cade: www.theringer.com/nba/2023/11/20/23968151/cade-cunningham-detroit-pistons-breakout-advanced-statsI know Cade looks bad in this but i definitely think he's better than he gets to show, his support is non-existent and it must be impossible to be a lead guard creator with no one of quality around you. His inefficiencies come from there not being a better option and needing to force it. The other main choice, Evan Mobley, has been stuck without improvement especially in key areas that the team needs him to, most of all shooting the 3 or frankly anything outside the restricted area. Hoop Collective and Lowe Post have talked about him lately being completely unimproved and basically only shot 7 3's this year and 33 outside the restricted zone, going 1/7 and 6/33 if memory serves. Further his lauded defense i think is highly overrated, mainly because without Allen the defensive numbers plummet. I don't see how you can be a good defender when you are only a good defender when next to a good defender. I'm sure he is an asset at PF defensively if they can always keep a C next to him because he has the speed and length to play the spot but then he doesn't have the offense to play there successfully. Cavs are in trouble now honestly, it sounds strange but the plan was for Mobley to be a star now going into Mitchell's 2nd last year, the main reason being to plan for the final year this next off season on what to do with Mitchell. If they aren't a top team they would be smart to trade him before he leaves for nothing. So it seems like the order right now is Barnes, Cade, Mobley, Franz. So happy we have Barnes and not Suggs. I wonder if those idiots in that video that freaked out when they picked Barnes over Suggs learned their lesson that they are amateurs and to shut up?
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Post by Pseudonym on Nov 21, 2023 9:44:09 GMT -5
It's still quite early in his career, but these are unnerving stats to say the least. Right now, he's looking like the 3rd guy on a championship team. A Bosh, not a Wade or LeBron. Not a bust, but still kind of disappointing. Scully, I remember you were actually pointing out the poor finishing at the rim to be a concern too.
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Post by scully19 on Nov 21, 2023 10:27:43 GMT -5
Ya that's for sure unnerving. I haven't really watched Cade much but there's been talk already that he's lost a step from that injury last year in what was already not a great athletic person so maybe that's really hampering him. Or is like the ACL type injuries, the first year back you can play but are slower and less explosive, second year is when you can hope to be normal again.
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Post by freewheel on Nov 21, 2023 15:04:37 GMT -5
The thing that always forces me to downgrade a player is when they appear in their first few NBA games and are smaller than they were sold as. Cunningham definitely arrived smaller that I thought he was going to be. I thought he was going to be a SF with Carmello Anthony size who could pass and do it all. Turns out hes a guard all the way and probably doesn't have guard speed. He's still a really good player but do it all forwards are much harder to find than slow guards.
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Post by scully19 on Dec 24, 2023 22:43:10 GMT -5
It is so unfortunate that we surround him with lesser talent.
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Post by sutureself on Dec 28, 2023 17:32:43 GMT -5
It is so unfortunate that we surround him with lesser talent. I'm surprised OG ranks so low by this combined metric, considering all the talk about us demanding multiple 1sts for him, due for a huge raise this summer etc. A good defender shooting 47/37 can fit almost any lineup in the league but he's only ranked 161 on this list, below guys like Robert Covington and Royce O'Neal. I guess his stats don't look very pretty because he doesn't get to the line, he's a below average rebounder for a forward, and his steals/blocks are down (1.5 this year vs. 2.6 last year).
It's tricky because you never want to give up someone with OG's skillset but it's also hard to commit to him as some sort of near-max guy because we're just locking ourselves into treadmill territory with this current lineup. It reminds me of how Orlando sold the farm for Ibaka (giving up Oladipo and Sabonis) because in theory he was guy who could do everything, but he coudn't get the job done as one of the top guys on a bad team, and was amazing on the Raptors as a guy who could take over individual games but wasn't relied on to be The Guy consistently.
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Post by scully19 on Dec 28, 2023 20:19:39 GMT -5
Ya but I'm increasingly thinking I'd be fine with keeping OG, Siakam and Scottie even with the current record. The focus needs to be on surrounding then with proper talent and not just talent and hope they can develop into what you need. Scottie has gotten to where you wanted now where you see his skillset and know that you can build around him. I still love Pascal he's just our best players to trade. More and more it's the problem at the other spots and depth.
Jak needs to learn to shoot. JV, gasol, Lopez all figured it out later. If he doesn't then he needs up be reworked into someone who can because he's the biggest problem. If Siakam can get his shot up to average then you can work with Jak at C but he's still too expensive for what you're getting and taking away from depth. Speaking of, depth will be hard to come by money wise. The FO needs to relearn how to get guys late, it develop from G league that can contribute if they want to build around the 3 PFs.
At least with Scottie playing PG that's a spot that doesn't need as much help
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Post by scully19 on Dec 28, 2023 20:25:01 GMT -5
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Post by haisan on Feb 18, 2024 21:25:58 GMT -5
Scottie getting memed!
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Post by haisan on Mar 4, 2024 5:43:27 GMT -5
Wait, there’s a “thing” online (joke? meme?) claiming that Scottie is autistic? Wtf?
The internet really bums me out sometimes….
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Post by sutureself on Mar 4, 2024 14:02:35 GMT -5
Wait, there’s a “thing” online (joke? meme?) claiming that Scottie is autistic? Wtf? The internet really bums me out sometimes…. I made the mistake of googling this and it's pretty bad honestly, pisses me off. My oldest daughter is autistic and she has a tendency to follow a lot of 'autistic influencers' who I find slightly annoying because they tend to over-generalize basic human behaviours and claim they're all symptoms of autism, but I get it because autistic kids want to feel like there's other people who see the world the same way as they do and feel like they're not alone. I thought it might be something like that where kids are looking up to Scottie and trying to see a bit of themselves in him. But no it's pretty much just a bunch of knuckle-dragging bs, calling him a "r*t**d" and stuff like that
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