TORONTO — Let’s just give Scottie Barnes the benefit of the doubt and accept that in his second game back after being out for 10 days with a sprained ankle he’s just not at his best.
Certainly, his showing against Fred VanVleet and the visiting Houston Rockets was among his worst in Barnes’s three-plus seasons at a Toronto Raptor. It wasn’t just that the big wing finished with six points on 2-of-15 shooting, though that was a big part of it, and a big reason Toronto lost their seventh straight, this time 114-110 to the rising Rockets.
It was that the kind of physical drive and emotional engagement he delivers when he’s at his best — and which is part of the job description for an all-star who will be in the first year of a five-year $225 million contract next season — was simply absent. Barnes’s first seven shot attempts were three-pointers, and none of them were particularly good shots, but then again when you’re shooting 28.6 per cent from beyond the arc, how many of them can be?
Barnes allowed not-particularly fleet-footed Rockets big man Alperen Sengun to blow past him on the dribble at one end and then had no means to shake Sengun off the dribble at the other. Barnes didn’t attempt his first two-pointer until midway through the third quarter — a spinning fadeaway to nowhere — and didn’t make a two-pointer, or basket of any kind until he scored on a post-up in the lane a minute later.
“As you can see, he’s not being himself,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic by way of explanation. “He’s banged up, he got hit in his hip the last game, [there’s] his ankle and there’s been a couple of things bothering him. He’s still not himself, he’ll be better.”
Remarkably, the Raptors were still in a very competitive game, one that stayed that way almost to the final horn. Despite missing leading scorer RJ Barrett (a late scratch due to illness), leading rebounder Jakob Poeltl (groin) and their most experienced point guards, Immanuel Quickley (elbow) and Davion Mitchell (shoulder), the Raptors were trailing just 84-83 to start the fourth quarter.
The Raptors led by as many as 16 early and got a career-high 27 points from rookie Ja’Kobe Walter who scored the Raptors’ first 14 points of the game. They also had nice bench contributions from Chris Boucher (15 points), Jamal Shead (11 points, 10 assists), Kelly Olynyk (eight points, nine rebounds, four assists) and Jamison Battle (11 points).
But with their regulars out they needed a big game from Barnes and they didn’t get it.
The Rockets weren’t exactly at their best either. It was the first game back in Toronto for VanVleet who played seven seasons with the Raptors before joining the Rockets in free agency in the summer of 2023. VanVleet was injured when the Rockets were in town last season.
There was some irony that when the in-game video tribute centred on VanVleet’s franchise record 54-point game from 2020-21, the Rockets guard scored just two points on 1-of-10 shooting but was still able to appreciate the crowd’s warm reaction after not being in uniform when the Rockets were in Toronto last season.
“It was way better being on the court, even though I played like s—,” said VanVleet. “But way better being on the court. You know, this place is a special place for me, and I always think about what it means to me and my family, but I never think about what I mean to other people until I get here. So that’s always just a blessing and something I never take for granted. This crowd, I mean, given the season that you guys are having, for them to be out there cheering and still showing up and on a nightly basis, this is a special place for basketball.”
It wasn’t a particularly special night though as the Raptors fell to 7-22 on the season, while the surprising Rockets improved to 19-9.
But the Rockets and VanVleet offer some guidance.
After three miserable seasons prior to VanVleet arriving — the Rockets won 17, 20 and 22 games — Houston finished .500 last season and has come out of the gates flying so far this season, exceeding even VanVleet’s expectations. He joined Houston as part of an effort to bring some veteran leadership with the acquisition of him and Canadian wing Dillon Brooks, and the dividends are showing.
“You know you can dream, but you never know what it looks like. Last year was certainly a more up and down year, but we were able to kind of set a foundation,” said VanVleet. “And one thing I noticed right away when I got to Houston was how hungry the guys were, how receptive they were and how much they wanted to be great, that was exciting. And that’s what felt good, you know, when I signed on, and we’re seeing some of that pay off this year.”
It should give the Raptors some hope that things can turn around quickly, though it’s worth wondering where the on-court leadership will come from. The Raptors have some veterans, but only Poeltl is starting. It’s why it’s so important for Barnes to take strides both on the floor and as a culture setter. It’s a big job and it’s way too early to tell if he’s up to it yet.
Certainly, it’s unreasonable to judge him on a poor night against the NBA’s second-best defence when he is probably not at his best physically.
And in a season that’s very much about rebuilding, a bad night at the office isn’t the end of the world, if we’re being honest. But as VanVleet and the Rockets have shown, competitive basketball can come on quicker than might be expected. Certainly, the Raptors are hoping for that, with some lottery luck.
In that scenario, nights like Barnes had Sunday will necessarily have to be few and far between.
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1. Dillon Brooks graduated from US high school powerhouse Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada, before he went on to star at Oregon and eventually make his way to the NBA, but he considers Father Henry Carr in Rexdale his home high school.
He played for head coach Paul Melnick for Grades 9 and 10, establishing himself as a prospect under his guidance, and Brooks has never forgotten his roots. The basketball program shuttered during COVID, but Brooks stepped up this year when they wanted to start fresh with a new elite program to give Toronto area kids an option to develop in a first-class basketball environment without leaving home. Brooks cut the cheque and helped arrange a Nike sponsorship.
“His support has been massive,” says Melnik, a fixture on the Toronto-area high school scene for decades. “I’ve coached many, many special kids but Dillon is one of best people I’ve ever coached.”
In recognition of Brooks’ contributions, the school hosted the inaugural Dillon Brooks Cup on Friday, and hung a banner in their gym, while making the day “Dillon Brooks Day.”
The gym was packed with students, alumni, parents and members of the local basketball community, and Brooks, who hosted more than 50 friends, family and students at the game Sunday night, was deeply touched.
“I grew up through that program,” Brooks told me. “All the guys there were part of my journey as a basketball player and having a coach like Coach Melnik who gave up a lot of himself for the program itself, I just wanted to give back and start it back up again. The kids there, they have the same dreams that I had, growing up in that program … so I wanted to give back for them and make sure they have the same chances that I did.”
Brooks didn’t disappoint his old friends in the crowd as he led the Rockets with 27 points on 6-of-12 shooting and bulled his way to the free-throw line 14 times, converting 13.
2. Jamal Shead and Fred VanVleet are different types of players, even though the comparisons are hard to avoid: Each were four-year college players who were leaders and two-way forces at programs that won a huge majority of their games while they were there, but didn’t see that success translate come draft time. VanVleet — as every Raptors fan knows — was undrafted out of Wichita State while Toronto was able to take Shead with the 45th pick out of Houston.
The two developed a bit of a relationship last season — VanVleet’s first with the Rockets — and when Shead was drafted by the Raptors, VanVleet messaged him congratulations and offered his help if Shead needed anything in his adjustment to a new country and new city. Turns out Shead’s adjusted just fine.
The rookie guard’s brand of on-ball defence gave the veteran VanVleet everything he could handle and then some. Meanwhile, Shead played an excellent game and has been coming on strong recently since falling out of the rotation briefly. He also earned some kudos from VanVleet, who knows the look of an effective if under-sized floor leader when he sees one.
“I love him,” VanVleet said. “Wasn’t much fun playing against him tonight, but I love him. I loved him in college, [and] obviously, we were able to start a little relationship, [last year in Houston], so I’m happy for that kid and the sky’s the limit. He’s one of those guys who you just want to root for, so happy to see him have some success.”
3. You just never know what you’re going to get from Chris Boucher. It’s more than half the fun. The Raptors designated off-the-bench (when he gets to play) fire starter was at his grab-bag best in the first half against the Rockets.
Passing has never been Boucher’s thing but if you pay close attention, you would have noticed him adding some of those elements over the past couple of years, he just doesn’t get the opportunity — or recognize it — to show them all that often.
The Raptors were already up seven when Boucher checked in midway through the first quarter. Boucher then hit a three on his first touch — nothing unusual there, at least unusual about him taking it. But then Boucher the point guard made a rare appearance.
First, he drove hard baseline and snapped a quick pass to a cutting Ochai Agbaji for a score. Then sprinted out with the ball in transition and found Agbaji for another lay-up. The Raptors were up 14. Early in the second quarter, Boucher moved the ball quickly to set up Battle for a three and the lanky big man’s third assist in just over seven minutes. Boucher’s career-high in seven seasons is four.
His seeing-eye ways came to an end later in the second quarter when he swung a pass directly to the referee on the left sideline for one of his four turnovers. Boucher did eventually tie his career-high for assists and added 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting in his 19 minutes, so a solid night all round.
