Scottie Barnes: ‘I Want To Play Every Single Game’

“Why would I not go out there?” he said. “Nothing’s stopping me. You know, I want to play every single game. I love playing basketball. I missed some games last year, I missed some games this year. You know, it’s just a blessing to be on that court. You know, every time I step on the floor, just trying to help the team win.”

The 2022 Rookie of the Year has appeared in 62 games in his fourth NBA season, averaging 18.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 33 minutes per night. His shooting numbers have fallen to career lows of 44% from the field and 26.3% from three-point range, but Grange suggests that’s related to the injury, which is located where his outside two fingers meet the knuckle on his right hand.

Barnes went 2-of-8 and missed both of his three-point attempts on Thursday, extending a six-game slump where he’s shooting 33.3% from the floor and 14.3% from long distance.

“It (bothers me) a lot when I’m shooting, it hurts at times, and then in games it gets hit, it hurts more than it usually hurts, but, you know, it’s a pretty daily thing,” he said. “It’s not a risk of hurting it more, nothing crazy, but when it gets hit, it takes a minute or two to calm it down. (But) the legs work perfectly fine, so I’m ready to go on out there.”

Grange acknowledges that the Raptors would be justified in shutting down Barnes for the rest of the season. He missed 11 games in November with a fractured orbital bone and two more in December with an ankle injury. The team appears to be locked into the league’s seventh-worst record and there’s little reason to risk further injury to one of the franchise cornerstones, especially after last season was cut short due to a fractured left hand.

Barnes needs to play three more times to reach the league’s 65-game minimum for postseason awards. He could earn an additional $45MM on his contract extension by making an All-NBA team, but Grange notes that he’s not really in contention for that honor considering his poor shooting numbers and Toronto’s place in the standings. Barnes’ decision to continue playing mostly stems from his love of the game and his desire to set an example as a team leader.

“Every game is useful. Keep learning and keep getting better. Keep playing with different teammates, different rotations,” he said. “Right now, this is going to help for the future. You just got to keep learning how to play with each other, how to grow, talk, communicate. When there’s struggles, it’s great for that, when there’s some struggles going on, when there’s bad things happening, how are we going to communicate? How are we going to stay together as a team? How are we going to try to figure this, this thing out?”