Scottie Barnes’ continued growth Raptors primary objective

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There have been moments of good play mixed in with far too many moments of bad play, moments of indifference and defensive deficiency and moments when glimpses are provided.

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Granted, this is the pre-season and trying to recall any defining moment amounts to an exercise in irrelevance and insignificance.

Fortunately, there’s only one exhibition tip remaining, a Friday night visit to Brooklyn, before the real games begin for the Raptors, who will play host to the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers next Wednesday.

Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and Toronto’s Scottie Barnes will forever be linked through the 2021 draft, a class that featured Cade Cunningham being selected first overall by the Detroit Pistons, whose rebuild is taking longer to complete than the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

Mobley went third overall followed by Barnes.

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The way Barnes has evolved and has shown a willingness to expand his game, it’s clear — with the benefit of hindsight — that he should have been taken by the Pistons.

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The circumstances are far different, but it is worth noting given this is the 30th anniversary of the Raptors, that fans clamoured for the franchise to draft Ed O’Bannon way back at SkyDome when Toronto served as host city.

Many fans pined for Jalen Suggs in 2021 having watched the guard lead Gonzaga to a deep NCAA tournament run. While Suggs has turned into a very good defender, he’s no Scottie Barnes.

Mobley has turned into a solid big, but the jury still is out whether his game can mesh with fellow big Jarrett Allen.

Both Barnes and Mobley are 23, but each embraces different roles with their respective clubs.

Barnes is the undisputed face of the Raptors, the go-to guy and the one player who will be asked to shoulder quite the load for a team hoping to compete for the play-in tournament.

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Barnes would have to play like an all-NBA first-team all-star to give the Raptors any hope of finishing among the top-six spots in the East.

The Cavs, on the other hand, are a solid playoff team with legitimate ambitions of securing a top-four seed.

In the absence of selling wins, hope springs eternal and there’s plenty of hope surrounding this Raptors team.

Once all the pieces are fully healthy and once a rotation is in place, the Raptors don’t seem like the hopeless and hapless squad that would end last season with so many issues after events completely derailed the club.

It would be inconceivable for this edition to endure a 15-game losing streak or lose by historic outcomes, which last year’s collection experienced when the New York Knicks were in town later when Toronto visited the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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A healthy Barnes almost ensures some level of competitiveness. Precisely how competitive the Raptors become will largely depend on the growth of Barnes’ supporting cast.

There’s also the matter of management and what moves it is willing to make to support their budding all-star.

This past off-season was pretty quiet for a Raptors management team known for its boldness and taking calculating risks.

Size and shooting remain areas that need to be addressed based on the first four games of the pre-season and by looking at the roster currently constructed.

Wanting to push the pace, move the ball and defend all sound good, three basketball hallmarks virtually every team wants to embrace. Whether the Raptors can sustain it remains a big unknown.

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Growth from second-year head coach Darko Rajakovic must also be seen following a rookie season when the affable and personable Serbian had both hands metaphorically tied behind his back.

One encouraging sign already surfaced in the pre-season.

By no means are the Raptors in the same category as the Boston Celtics, who will celebrate their 2024 championship with a ring ceremony and the raising of the franchise’s 18th banner into the rafters next Tuesday on opening night against the Knicks.

On Sunday at TD Garden, the Raptors trailed by as many as 33 points. But then, two nights later at Scotiabank Arena, the Raptors led the champs 24 points.

Under the backdrop of the pre-season, it’s foolish to draw any conclusion. Toronto’s energy and compete level in the rematch were much improved, signs that should be applauded.

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It was good watching second-year wing Gradey Dick score a game-high 27 points in Tuesday’s 119-118 win over the C’s. He took a team-high 21 shots to score 27, which isn’t exactly efficient.

Dick did not make a single trip to the line and nor did he record a single assist. He also did not turn the ball over.

The good news involved Dick’s ability to score in a variety of ways as opposed to simply spotting up.

Barnes’ three-point shooting, especially to begin the night, also was encouraging. The fact he came within one rebound of recording a triple-double is meaningless.

What was meaningful involved his game-high five turnovers, one more than the entire total recorded by Boston, which forced 20 Toronto turnovers.

One of the most understated positive aspects to the Raptors’ play was that of Ochai Agbaji.

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His offensive shortcomings notwithstanding, Agbaji welcomes every defensive challenge, regardless of size and high-end skill. Agbaji would get matched up against Boston’s two best players in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Injuries forced the Raptors to use Agbaji as a starter last season after he was acquired along with Kelly Olynyk from the Utah Jazz.

At best, Agbaji is used coming off the bench with that defensive mindset he seems to bring into every game. He did emerge from Tuesday’s win with a game-high plus-29 rating.

Scoring is a bonus for Agbaji, who had 16 points. When he is cooking, Agbaji is running the floor and locating his spot in transition. Drilling one three-pointer is always nice for someone whose perimeter shot hasn’t been good.

With a pre-season record of 2-2 and a chance to boast a winning record, one could argue the Raptors are making strides.

But it is the pre-season and records don’t mean anything.

A proper assessment of this Raptors unit cannot be made until the roster gets healthy and until an extended stretch of regular-season games are in the books.

For now, glimpses get provided — some good, some bad and some indifferent.

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