Why Scottie Barnes will make an All-Defense team – Samson’s Mailbag
Samson Folk dives into the film on Scottie Barnes’ defense and responds to listener questions about the Raptors.
When it comes to Scottie Barnes’ defense, he’s been put in a lot of different roles and situations. The good news for the Raptors is that he’s shown a keen ability to navigate a great many of them. He is, all at once, one of the better chase down block artists, one of the best weak-side rotators, and one of the best nail defenders. He is extremely disruptive.
There are limitations to discuss, to be sure. However, even though he has shortcomings as an isolation defender and has difficulty navigating screens, he provides a whole bunch of effort to move teams into the back end of the shot clock with really affecting deny defense and a whole bunch of gumption.
Samson also discusses why players like Immanuel Quickley, Fred VanVleet, and Davion Mitchell absolutely dominate on/off metrics at similar rates to All-Star guards. A lot of times it’s very contextual, but there’s no denying the effect that competent guard play has on the NBA floor. It’s been taken for granted a little bit as NBA teams attempt to project major creators at different positions, but competent guards control pace, shot profiles, and the possession differential. Those are three of the largest motivators for VanVleet’s impact in particular.
A listener asks about RJ Barrett’s driving game, and Samson gets into some of the advantages and limitations that have shown up around Barrett’s downhill game. We need to see more shot making, as that’s fallen off a little bit, and the playmaking has waned to some degree. At his best though, Barrett can fuel on offense for periods of time with his ability to drive downhill.
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Have a blessed day.
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