Raptors Explain the Importance of RJ Barrett's New Defensive Role

The Toronto Raptors want RJ Barrett to be the organization's primary wing defender this season and that means he'll have to take a big step forward developmentally

Feb 26, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) holds the ball while Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barrett (9) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

RJ Barrett deserved all the praise.

It was as if something suddenly clicked for the 24-year-old former No. 3 pick last December when the Toronto Raptors acquired Barrett from the New York Knicks. For so long, Barrett had been an inefficient high-volume scorer, putting up empty numbers on some good but not great Knicks teams.

With the Raptors, that all changed.

Barrett’s box score stats ticked up slightly, but it was how he got those numbers that changed the perception of his offensive game. The 6-foot-6 forward emerged as one of the league’s most efficient high-volume scorers with a True Shooting percentage better than Devin Booker, Kyrie Irving, and Jayson Tatum.

But what didn’t change was Barrett’s defense.

Put simply, Barrett has never been a very good defender. Despite his size and 214-pound frame, he ranks as a well below-average defender in virtually all the advanced defensive metrics.

That needs to change.

Toronto has spent the offseason harping on the importance of defense and Barrett’s role is about to become exponentially more important. For the Raptors to be successful this year, Barrett is going to have to take on the opposing team’s best offensive wing night after night. The organization wants to use Scottie Barnes as a roaming help defender, which means Barrett will see some of the league’s toughest assignments.

“I think RJ's defensive effort and importance on defense this year has to rise just because of the needs of our team and our desire to improve our defense,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković told reporters in Montreal on Wednesday.

Barrett knows that.

“You want to win, it starts with defense,” he told reporters. “I've been practicing. I've been working on it, especially during the summertime.”

The Raptors have been on Barrett pushing him to get better on that end. For all the talk about perimeter defense and on-ball pressure from Toronto’s guards, it’s Barrett’s defense that’ll be crucial when the league’s best offensive players come to town. In the first month alone, Barrett can expect to see Paul George, Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, Tatum, and DeMar DeRozan as his primary assignments.

“Everybody wants two-way players,” Rajaković said in Montreal. “He understands the stakes for us in our team. … We need him to fall in love with defense, be as good of a player as he is offensively.”

Barrett is never going to be an OG Anunoby-level defensive stopped, but with Jakob Poeltl and Barnes roaming the back line, Toronto just needs Barrett to be able to hold his own in tough matchups.

It’ll take a lot of work for Barrett who has always been more of an offensive-focused player. But if the offensive growth Barrett showed last season can be replicated on the defensive end, the Raptors find themselves another coveted two-way forward for the future.