The Raptors find hope in the Scottie Barnes effect. And what he might do next

And so, too, is it all working for the Raptors, who are looking more like what Darko Rajakovic, Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster envisioned.

It’s not all the time. That would be far too big an ask for a roster still with some holes, and dotted by youngsters who can turn back into rookies in the blink of an eye. But it’s often enough that everyone’s feeling pretty good.

That’s because of Barnes and the way he’s playing.

“Wherever the advantages are on the floor, you have to take those advantages and you gotta exploit them,” Barnes said after perhaps his best game of the season: a career-high 35 points, nine assists and a brilliant final four minutes to wrap up a 122-111 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.

It’s not that Barnes is exploiting his own matchup to beat up on opponents — even though he roughed up both Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam for stints on Tuesday. It’s that he’s managing the game so well, taking it by the scruff of the neck and making it his own whenever the need arrives.

He gets shots for himself and his teammates. He defends the way his coach wants, and that trickle-down effect is huge.

“Like I always say with him, it’s kind of just: Find the right spots,” teammate RJ Barrett said. “Just get open, cut (and) he’s going to see it. So just keep moving, keep playing and he’ll find you.”

It’s hard for Rajakovic to contain his excitement because Barnes, right now, is the kind of all-around stud the coach, team president Ujiri and general manager Webster saw in the 23-year-old who was drafted fourth overall in 2021.

“I think he’s just maturing as a player, knowing tendencies, knowing what players are doing, getting more comfortable inside our schemes as well,” Rajakovic said. “As a team, we try to be very aggressive, and that’s what Scottie wants to do.

“For me as a coach, it’s a true blessing when your best player is really embracing that style of defence, and that makes everybody else (want) to step up a notch defensively as well.”

Barnes’s impact runs throughout the entire roster, but it’s seen most in the play of Barrett. The two wings have been a lethal combination in most games, existing seamlessly rather than as  stars circling each other in the same galaxy.

“When we’re both being aggressive and we’re both getting downhill — pushing the pace, finding each other in transition — it pays off really well,” Barnes said of playing with Barrett.

“Our games complement each other really well. We’re finding each other. Just trying to give each other that space to create (and) play off that. We’re doing a great job finding each other, and just being able to let each other play and find the seams to create.”

Still, there is tangible proof of trouble spots. The two stars are turnover-prone, and it’s an issue. Barnes had seven turnovers against the Pacers, Barrett five, and that’s crushing at times in any  game.

Combined, they average 7.2 turnovers per game, by far the most prolific fumblers on the team. That’s the next aspect they have to work on.

“I still expect more from them execution-wise, taking care of the ball when we need it,” Rajakovic said. “ Again (Tuesday) big number of turnovers, and we need to continue watching film and studying and then trying to clear that up, because that’s gonna really unlock a lot for us.”

If they clear that up — and there’s no reason to think they won’t over time — who knows where the Raptors might go.

“If you talk to both of them, they’re going to be the first ones to be aware of it, and they are aware that they need to grow,” the coach said. “And I have no doubt that they will be able to clean it up and improve.”