Clippers Wowed by Scottie Barnes Who Draws Draymond Green Comparison: 'He's Built like a 2K MyPlayer'

Toronto Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes surprised the Los Angeles Clippers with his skills in transition, receiving praise from Terance Mann and Tyronn Lue

Aaron Rose | Mar 17, 2022

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

It was as if Nicolas Batum didn’t know exactly what Scottie Barnes was made of.

The Toronto Raptors rookie has that effect on opposing players. He grabs a defensive rebound and starts dribbling up the court and defenders think he’s some sort of 6-foot-7 big without any feel for how to move the ball. It’s part of the reason why Batum, 33 years old and not quite as quick as he imagines he is, felt comfortable stepping up and pressuring Barnes in the full court.

Whoops.

Barnes took two dribbles to his right, fooled Batum into thinking he was going to spin around, and then took off 94 feet down the court for a pivotal late-game transition layup.

“He brings the ball up the floor and people think ‘well, he's too big to do that, we're gonna pressure him,’ and he's making them pay,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday night following Toronto's 103-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. “They don't take it from him and he puts it on ‘em and he puts his body on ‘em and he goes in to make plays.”

It’s understandable. Barnes is a confusing brand of new era basketball. The Raptors are just as likely to use him as an offensive big man, posting him up inside, using him to grab offensive boards, or as the roll man with a guard, as they are to use him as a ball-handler, navigating the pick-and-roll, spotting up, or attacking in isolation.

“It’s not easy preparing for him because he’s built like a 2k MyPlayer,” said Los Angeles Clippers wing Terence Mann who once hosted Barnes on a recruiting visit to Florida State. “He can do everything. He’s long, quick, fast, agile, like, he could shoot it. He hit some big shots tonight, rebounding the ball, passing the ball, like he can literally do everything, push the ball in transition on the break.”

Making things more confusing is how Barnes creates cross matchups with his defensive versatility. He’s comfortable defending one through five and has spent as many possessions defending guards like James Harden and Russell Westbrook as he has taken on bigs like Mo Bamba, Evan Mobley, and Bam Adebayo, per NBA Stats.

“He reminds me a little bit of Draymond Green I think defensively, you know, being able to guard multiple positions,” said Clippers coach Tyronn Lue.

That ability forces opposing teams to scramble on defense as they try to figure out how to get back to their defensive assignments and who should pick up Barnes all while he begins to take off down the court. It cost the Clippers twice in the fourth quarter with a pair of transition buckets that proved decisive in a three-point game.

Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) moves the ball against Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum (33) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena

Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) dunks against Los Angeles Clippers forward Robert Covington (23) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena

Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. (8) controls the ball against Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena

Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) dunks against Los Angeles Clippers forward Robert Covington (23) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena

Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers guard Amir Coffey (7) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena

“The scouting for him is he's a winner,” Lue added. “So if you get a rookie who's all about winning, not worrying about personal accolades and just worrying about winning and team, everything team first, that's a great pick and everybody in their organization loves him.”

It’s not perfect yet. Barnes nearly cost Toronto late in the fourth quarter with some indecisiveness in the half-court. He threw a pass to Fred VanVleet that nearly went out of bounds. But it was OK, Nurse said post-game, because it was a learning experience.

“The more reps the better it will be for him later on,” he said.

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