Tag: Scottie Barnes

Fans ripped Scottie Barnes for leaving the floor early after Victor Wembanyama dominated Toronto

Barnes is an All-Star but this was a tough look.

Victor Wembanyama was stunning in a dominant win by the San Antonio Spurs over the Toronto Raptors.

The rookie had a historic stat line against the Raptors as the Spurs won, 122-99, on the road in Toronto. It was arguably the best game of Wembanyama’s NBA career thus far. He became one of the only players in league history to ever record 25 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks, and five assists in a game.

Meanwhile, despite recently making the NBA All-Star Game as one of the injury replacements in the Eastern Conference, this was also one of the worst performances of the season for Toronto’s Scottie Barnes.

The former Rookie of the Year winner was 3-for-15 (20.0 percent) from the field, which marked the worst shooting percentage of his 2023-24 campaign to date. He had three shots blocked by Wembanyama.

It wasn’t just Wembanyama who made Barnes have a difficult night, though. San Antonio’s Jeremy Sochan did an outstanding job as the primary defender against Barnes during the victory.

Before the game was officially over and while his teammates were still on the court, Barnes made his way back to the locker room.

After the game, Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said that this was “not the standard” that the organization expects to see from Barnes (via TheStar.com):

“It is definitely a learning opportunity for all the players on the team,” he said at the post-game news conference. “From young guys to all the vets. And this is not the performance that we want to have, the competitive spirit that we want to have.”

Here is what some of the fans thought about Barnes’ decision:

Rookies Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore set career highs as Rockets blast Raptors

Rockets rookies Amen Thompson (19 points, 7 rebounds) and Cam Whitmore (25 points, 6 rebounds) each set career-highs Friday as Houston routed Toronto.

HOUSTON — In Friday’s finale of a three-game homestand at Toyota Center, rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore each set career highs in scoring as Houston routed Toronto, 135-106 (box score).

The Rockets (23-25) finished the homestand at 2-1, while the Raptors (17-31) lost for the 10th time in 12 games.

In a dominant win by the Rockets with a season-high 84 points in the paint, double-figure scorers for the home team included:

  • Cam Whitmore: 25 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals in 21 minutes; 10-of-17 shooting (58.8%), 3-of-7 on 3-pointers (42.9%)
  • Amen Thompson: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals in 24 minutes; 9-of-11 shooting (81.8%)
  • Alperen Sengun: 24 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists in 29 minutes; 10-of-14 shooting (71.4%), 1-of-2 on 3-pointers (50.0%)
  • Jalen Green: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists in 27 minutes; 7-of-14 shooting (50.0%)
  • Jabari Smith Jr.: 11 points, 3 rebounds in 24 minutes; 4-of-9 shooting (44.4%), 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%)
  • Fred VanVleet: 10 points, 6 assists in 25 minutes; 4-of-7 shooting (57.1%), 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50.0%)

Whitmore has now scored 17 or more points in five straight games despite averaging under 25 minutes per game over that stretch.

Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 28 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 10-of-17 overall (58.8%) and 7-of-8 on free throws (87.5%).

Here’s our look at Friday’s highlights and postgame interviews, along with reaction by media members and fans. With the homestand in the books, next up for Houston is a tough game Sunday at Minnesota (34-14) to open up a four-game road trip. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. Central.

Ranking the 23 best NBA players under 23 years old, with a FIBA World Cup star leading the pack

Where should Victor Wembanyama rank? Here’s the answer, along with the other best young NBA stars.

We are entering a new era of the NBA with Victor Wembanyama as one of several young stars vying to become the face of the league.

Now that the NBA’s 2023-24 season is less than a month away from tipping off, as we did last year, we have decided to re-rank the 23 best players who are under 23 years old.

But why 23? Well, it is not just because that was the number worn by Michael Jordan. Typically, NBA publications rank 25 players under 25 years old. You can read versions of that here, here, and here. I wanted to try out a similar thought experiment but with a new twist.

By the time NBA players are 25 years old, many have already graduated to their second contract and are in vastly different chapters of their careers than the league’s young players. It is harder to compare players like Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, who will each earn more than $30 million next season, to players on rookie scale contracts.

The following rankings, meanwhile, are based predominantly on how we see NBA projections for next season. It is not as predictive of their future success or their potential in the league.

NOTE: For this exercise, all players included must be born after Oct. 24, 2000. 

The Raptors’ Scottie Barnes was so confused by Scott Foster’s ejection for talking to himself

Yet another controversy from referee Scott Foster!

It’s kind of been a rough season for the Toronto Raptors. At 32-34, Toronto is on the outside looking in on the Eastern Conference Playoff standings. And after a hard-fought lost battle against the Denver Nuggets Monday night, a strange year just got even more frustrating for Scottie Barnes.

As the final seconds wound down in a 114-113 game, a foul was called on the Raptors. Barnes understandably took exception to this call, but not loudly. Enter infamous official Scott Foster. A man, who, in some NBA circles, needs no introduction.

Foster would eject Barnes for his whispering commentary, giving the confused Raptors’ forward the first ejection of his career. Toronto would lose 118-113.

But wait, did what Barnes said really warrant an ejection?

Because even one of the other officials was perplexed by Foster’s decision:

In the post-game, the 2022 Rookie of the Year would explain he was simply quietly talking to himself. Foster apparently heard Barnes’ criticisms under his breath and was still having none of his “questioning of integrity.”

And I mean, c’mon:

It’s one thing to rip the officiating crew to their face directly. Of course, they’ll take exception to such critique. It’s another if, as Barnes professes, to eject players for just talking to themselves under their breath.

The Raptors already had to endure a stinging defeat to the Western Conference-leading Nuggets. Barnes’ controversial ejection for apparently talking to himself is salt in the wound.

NBA Rising Stars 2023: Full rosters revealed in draft announcement

The NBA on Tuesday unveiled the four seven-player teams for the 2023 NBA Rising Stars game.

The NBA on Tuesday unveiled the four seven-player teams for the 2023 NBA Rising Stars competition set to take place on Feb. 17 as part of All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The showcase will feature four seven-player teams competing in a mini-tournament consisting of three games for the second straight year. Each game will be played to a final target score, meaning a game will end with a made basket or a made free throw instead of a running clock.

The pool of 28 players for the game consists of 11 first-year players, 10 second-year players and seven players from the G League. The rookies and sophomores were selected by assistant coaches, and the G League players were chosen by the league office.

The G League players will comprise one of the four teams.

The three teams from the NBA will be coached by Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Deron Williams. The three former players each selected seven players to their teams on Tuesday in an order determined by career All-Star appearances: Gasol (6), Williams (3) and Noah (2).

Here are the four rosters for the NBA Rising Stars competition.

NBA Rising Stars 2023: Player pool revealed for annual showcase

The NBA on Tuesday unveiled the list of 28 players set to participate in the annual Rising Stars game on Feb. 17.

The NBA on Tuesday unveiled the list of 28 players set to participate in the annual Rising Stars game on Feb. 17 as part of All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The showcase game will feature four seven-player teams competing in a mini-tournament consisting of three games for the second straight year. Each game will be played to a final target score, meaning a game will end with a made basket or a made free throw instead of a running clock.

The pool of 28 players for the game consists of 11 first-year players, 10 second-year players and seven players from the G League. The rookies and sophomores were selected by assistant coaches and the G League players were chosen by the league office.

The 21 NBA players were selected by assistant coaches across the league. Each team submitted a rookie ballot and sophomore ballot featuring four frontcourt players, four guards and two additional players of any position, in order of preference.

The three NBA teams will be coached by Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Deron Williams. Jazz assistant coach Jason Terry, who previously coached the Grand Rapids Gold, will lead the G League team. Assistants from the All-Star Game staffs will also coach in the event.

TNT will televise the competition beginning at 9 p.m. EST.

Scottie Barnes’ unfazed reaction to an angry Deandre Ayton became an instant meme

Scottie Barnes looked like the least scared person on the planet.

Phoenix Suns big man Deandre Ayton was not happy with Scottie Barnes.

Barnes, the NBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year, fouled the former No. 1 pick on a field goal attempt near the basket during the third quarter of Toronto’s game against Phoenix on Monday evening.

Ayton, who was blocked by the Toronto forward early in the first quarter of the match, took exception to the physicality and got in Barnes’ face. Under normal circumstances, tempers likely would have flared and the two parties may have needed separation.

Barnes, however, looked like he was the least scared person on the planet:

After the game, Ayton was asked about the altercation and said he loved it.

The big man said that Barnes “poked the bear” and wished that would happen to him during every game that he plays.

Barnes, who played an exceptional game on the defensive side of the floor, walked away from this scuffle looking entirely unafraid of the smoke.

His reaction immediately turned into a meme once fans saw what happened:

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Re-ranking the 23 best NBA players under 23 years old, with a new star emerging at No. 1

None of these guys have even had their Jordan Year yet??

The next generation of NBA stars is incredibly promising, and many of them are still young enough to be undergraduate students in college.

Now that the NBA’s 2022-23 season is more than halfway done, we’ve decided to re-rank the 23 best players who are under 23 years old. But why 23? Well, it is not just because that was the number worn by Michael Jordan.

Typically, NBA publications rank 25 players under 25 years old. You can read versions of that here, here, and here. I wanted to try a similar thought experiment, but U25 was too much of a challenge because it is such a wide population.

By the time NBA players are 25 years old, many have already graduated to their second contract and are in vastly different chapters of their careers than the league’s young players. It is harder to compare players like Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, who will each earn more than $30 million next season, to players on rookie scale contracts.

This story was originally published before the season began, and you can see each player’s previous ranking below their name.

For this exercise, all players included must be born after Feb. 1, 2000. We chose that date because the listed age on Basketball Reference is how old a player is on Jan. 31 of each season.

Additionally, the following rankings are based on performance so far this season, and it is not predictive of their future success or their potential in the league.

NOTE: That means players like Darius Garland (who was born on Jan. 26, 2000) and Cade Cunningham or Chet Holmgren (who are injured for the season) were excluded. 

Raptors’ Scottie Barnes bends the rim on an incredible slam dunk against the Bulls

Scottie Barnes!

Scottie Barnes owes one of the rims at the Chicago Bulls arena an apology.

Barnes showed why he was a 2021 lottery pick for the Toronto Raptors Monday night in what may well be one of the best dunks you’ll see this NBA season.

On an offensive possession, Barnes drove in the ball to the rim on a Bulls defender and capped off the play with an earth-shattering slam dunk that even Chicago fans had to have been impressed by.

Seriously, you can feel your computer screen shake with the sheer force of basketball that Barnes dunks that sucker in with. It’s an amazing bucket.

Chicago isn’t the place you’d expect to feel an earthquake, but Barnes’ amazing dunk might’ve registered on the Richter scale. He’s already off to a historic season for Toronto, becoming the youngest player in Raptors history to net a triple-double.

The Florida State great will need more plays like that this season to help the Raptors keep pace in the Eastern Conference.

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Jalen Green, Tari Eason lead Rockets to impressive win over Raptors

Jalen Green (23 points) and Tari Eason (24 points, 8 rebounds) had impressive games in limited minutes as the short-handed Rockets upset Toronto in Friday’s exhibition.

Despite being down three starters and facing a perennial playoff team, the young Houston Rockets pulled off a very impressive preseason victory in Friday’s 116-100 win (box score) at Toyota Center over the visiting Raptors. Toronto, a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference, played the vast majority of its rotation players.

Second-year guard Jalen Green (23 points in 25 minutes) and rookie forward Tari Eason (24 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals in 25 minutes) were the clear standouts as Houston led comfortably for the vast majority of the game. Green shot 7-of-16 overall (43.8%) and made 4-of-9 from 3-point range (44.4%) on Friday, while Eason hit 8-of-15 shots (53.3%) and 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50.0%).

The Raptors were led in defeat by former All-Star Pascal Siakam, who had 18 points and 6 rebounds in 27 minutes. Reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, who beat out Green for the honor in the 2021-22 season, was held to just 2 points on 0-of-5 shooting.

The Rockets were quite short-handed for Friday’s exhibition, as expected, with Jabari Smith Jr. (left ankle sprain), Alperen Sengun (dental procedure), Eric Gordon (rest), and head coach Stephen Silas (health and safety protocols) all out. Smith, Sengun, and Gordon were replaced in the lineup by Jae’Sean Tate, Bruno Fernando, and KJ Martin, while assistant John Lucas took over as acting head coach.

Martin, in particular, was impressive for the Rockets with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in 27 minutes, shooting 4-of-9 from the field (44.4%) and 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50.0%).

Scroll on for postgame interviews and analysis. The Rockets (2-0) will resume their preseason schedule on Monday night at Miami, while the Raptors (2-1) will host Chicago on Sunday.

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