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Now, star player needs to keep building on his finale and keep getting easy baskets.
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Published Oct 18, 2025 • 4 minute read
Raptors' Scottie Barnes hangs on the rim after dunking against the Nets during first half NBA preseason action in Toronto, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025.
Raptors' Scottie Barnes hangs on the rim after dunking against the Nets during first half NBA preseason action in Toronto, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Photo by Jon Blacker /THE CANADIAN PRESS
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We learned some things during a too-long, six-game Toronto Raptors preseason schedule, but the most important information came Friday night.
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Scottie Barnes has not forgotten how to play offensive basketball after all, nor is he too banged up to do it.
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Yes, Toronto was playing a Brooklyn Nets team that should have a hard time winning 20 games in 2025-26, but that doesn’t mean you just throw what Barnes did against them out the window. The team’s best overall talent had been brutal offensively in his previous three appearances, shooting just 20% from the field on 30 attempts, mostly taken from too far away from the rim. Even the Boston Celtics broadcast team was wondering why they weren’t hearing his name mentioned at all in a recent quiet game.
Some knee tendinitis was partly to blame, but Barnes had seemed lethargic and out of sorts on offence, which was a bit odd given he was still aggressively rebounding the ball and playing strong defence.
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Maybe he was giving new addition Brandon Ingram, Toronto’s best and most effortless scorer as much room as he wanted to get comfortable after a 10-month absence from 5-on-5 basketball. Starting centre Jakob Poeltl missing most of the games likely contributed as well and maybe Barnes is just human and was easing his way in to an exhibition slate that as stated at the top, is longer than necessary.
Whatever the reasons, Barnes was the guy he needs to be on Friday and it was a great sign for the Raptors, who open the regular season at Atlanta on Wednesday, before Friday’s home opener against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The former NBA rookie of the year eliminated the tough or bad shots from his diet and went with where he can excel, scoring in close. Only two of his 15 shot attempts weren’t in the paint (two three-point misses), and he had two dunks and three layups in setting the tone in the first quarter alone. Barnes added a couple more dunks during the game and was in attack mode, even against a decent rim protector in Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton.
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This is who Barnes needs to be. A bully who uses his gifts. Let Ingram, Immanuel Quickley and Gradey Dick or Ochai Agbaji take the jump shots, with RJ Barrett mixing and matching drives with shots. Let Poeltl get his tip-ins, floaters and push shots from in close. Barnes can set the table for all of them, but he can’t be a scoring zero and still take advantages of his gifts as a play-maker, because opponents will back way off him and take away his attacking lanes if (a) they don’t respect his jump shot and (b) believe he will settle for fadeaways and pull-up attempts rather than initiate contact and get into the paint.
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WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
Head coach Darko Rajakovic had clearly seen the critiques of his star’s offensive game and his pre-game comments proved prophetic after Barnes delivered against the Nets.
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“It’s the preseason. He’s figuring out how to get to the rim, how to find a good balance between finishing and passing from there,” Rajakovic had told media pre-game. “He just needs games to get in the rhythm over here more than anything else. Also he missed a couple of days there at the start of training camp. Compared to the rest of the guys, he’s probably a week behind. But the last couple of days with his work, I think he’s trending in the right direction.”
Now, Barnes needs to keep building on his finale.
Rajakovic also mentioned the team’s new higher-paced offensive style and higher-pressure defence requires increased fitness. If Barnes was indeed a week behind, it makes sense he hadn’t brought everything to the table before Friday.
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“Everybody is trying to play with a lot of pace. Everybody is trying to move the ball. I think it’s just us getting into game shape more than anything else. We did a lot of work in the summer. We got in good conditioning. It’s just now learning how to play NBA games of 48 minutes and sustaining intensity over the whole game,” Rajakovic said.
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[Raptors' Brandon Ingram (right) works around Nets' Terance Mann (left) during first half NBA preseason action in Toronto, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025.
Brandon Ingram makes home debut as Raptors cut down Nets in final preseason tilt](https://torontosun.com/sports/basketball/nba/toronto-raptors/brandon-ingram-makes-home-debut-as-raptors-cut-down-nets-in-final-preseason-tilt?utm_source=read-more)
2. [Immanuel Quickley #5 of the Toronto Raptors dribbles downcourt against the Boston Celtics during the preseason game at TD Garden on October 15, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Raptors fall to Celtics, must get Scottie Barnes back on track](https://torontosun.com/sports/basketball/nba/toronto-raptors/toronto-raptors-fall-to-celtics-must-get-scottie-barnes-back-on-track?utm_source=read-more)
ROTATION FORMING
Rajakovic said at the start of camp when asked by Postmedia and reiterated Friday that he wants to use a lot of players, at least 10 and sometimes 11 a night.
The starting five is set, and it’s looking pretty clear who the first players called off the bench will be. Sandro Mamukelashvili, who shot 50% from the field despite uncharacteristic struggles on three-point shots, and grabbed 6.2 rebounds in only 20 minutes a game, will be the backup centre. Gradey Dick and Ochai Agbaji will be the first wings and Jamal Shead the backup point guard.
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Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles projects as a key reserve big man and Rajakovic has said he expects him to be ready to return from his injury soon.
That leaves one regular spot and one occasional choice.
Sophomore Ja’Kobe Walter should claim the 10th spot (he actually averaged more minutes in pre-season than Shead or Murray-Boyles and almost the same as Agbaji or Dick.
That leaves Jonathan Mogbo, Jamison Battle and Chucky Hepburn angling for spot minutes, depending on situations. Mogbo is a long, energetic defender who can rebound, Battle a floor-spacer with perhaps the best jump shot on the team, and Hepburn a third point guard who can really defend.
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