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Josh Lewenberg: Scottie Barnes is now down to 58% of his final form, per Darko. "I just realized there is more room for growth." 😂 Rajakovic said the plan this summer is for Barnes to focus on his skill development, off the dribble moves, finishing at the rim, and continue working on his shooting.
William Lou: "Me personally, I think Jakob was unbelievable for us. Yak helps me in so many different ways ... He's instrumental for our team and we need him" Scottie Barnes comes to Jakob Poeltl's defense
Oh No He Didn't: Antonio Daniels: "Scottie Barnes is a younger version of Victor Wembanyama...he impacts both sides of the basketball. They do it in different ways"
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Josh Lewenberg: Barrett on Barnes: “I think he shut up a lot of talk & I’m happy he was able to do that because, man, that’s a winning player. Just because he’s not a guy that comes out & tries to get 30 every night does not mean that he’s not one of the best basketball players in this league”
Keerthika Uthayakumar: Scottie Barnes & RJ Barrett combined to score or assist on 74 of the Raptors' 112 points in Game 6. Raptors will play a Game 7 for the first time since September 2020.
Josh Lewenberg: Rajakovic on Barnes, who hurt his quad in Game 5 but is good to go for Game 6: “He’s feeling good. It’s awesome to be young and recover quickly.”
Now, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster says Temple has been a key mentor for their young players. “He’s invaluable,” Webster said. “Three years ago, when we met him in Vegas, we didn’t have a great personal relationship with him. There is nobody on the team I trust more about the pulse of the team, what I need to watch and what messaging you can help us with, especially in today’s NBA with so many young kids coming in. “He’s been [mentoring] Scottie [Barnes] for a couple years; we have this young kid Collin Murray-Boyles. He’s a huge mentor and invaluable to us.”
Josh Lewenberg: Brandon Ingram (heel) is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s Game 6. Scottie Barnes isn’t on the injury report.
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In the first two games, James Harden carved up the Raptors’ defense with his pick-and-roll brilliance. In those contests, the Cavaliers had a 121.1 offensive rating in Harden’s minutes (the average offensive rating this postseason is 111.0). Credit to the Raptors, though, they weren’t just going to stand there and fall victim to Harden-ball. They used their defensive versatility to flip the script on him. In Game 1, the Raptors had RJ Barrett on Harden, Scottie Barnes on Evan Mobley, and Poeltl on Allen. Meanwhile, Game 4, those assignments were Barnes on Harden, Poeltl on Mobley, and Barrett on Allen. This adjustment is meaningful because Harden wants to go at Poeltl in pick-and-roll with Allen as his roll man, since Allen is a superior screener and finisher to Mobley.
Josh Lewenberg: Barnes said he got hit in his quad on a drive to the basket (he thinks it was Thomas Bryant). “Obviously, it had some effect. I couldn’t play with that same pace that I was trying to play with.” Went on to say: “I’ll be ready (for Game 6).”
Barnes said he got hit in his quad on a drive to the basket (he thinks it was Thomas Bryant). “Obviously, it had some effect. I couldn’t play with that same pace that I was trying to play with.”
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 30, 2026
Went on to say: “I’ll be ready (for Game 6).” pic.twitter.com/DQanDmOo9u
At one point late in the first half, Toronto was 1-for-18 from beyond the arc. It was ugly, but no matter how bad their shooting woes got, the Raptors never let it impact their focus or execution on the defensive end of the floor. They were unrelenting, winning the game to even their first-round series with Cleveland through sheer will and force. That’s Scottie Barnes in a nutshell. It’s not always pretty, but whatever he lacks in style, he more than makes up for in substance. He’s the type of player that wins on the margins. Good shooting night, bad shooting night, doesn’t matter. He’ll find a way. Whatever it takes. “I’m just trying to win basketball games,” said Barnes, who shot just 6-of-15 and missed both his three-point attempts but scored or assisted on 35 of Toronto’s 93 points and recorded four stocks (steals and blocks) in 42 minutes – the most he’s played in a regulation game this season. “I think that’s what makes me better, trying to do whatever it takes to win basketball game, making that effort, those extra efforts, trying to do more than what I can do.”
