Raps V. Nuggets - Preseason - Mon, Oct 6th, 2025 - 10PM EST

[links135]

Screening is a skill. If it was easy, Scottie would be able to do it by now.

it's 100% a skill. What I meant more so is that there's no physical reasons why Scottie can't become a good screener. Comes down to 1) Scottie willing to learn the skill and 2) the coaching staff guiding him to learn the skill.

Barnes wants to play like a perimeter player. He’s never shown the ability to do the dirty work/big man things like screening and posting-up. If this game was any indication on how we’re going to use Barnes that is a bad sign.

The BI/IQ/RJ trio are a higher usage trio than the Siakam/FVV/OG trio. If Barnes is going to be off ball more I’m not sure how he’s helping our offense. Clearly his shooting doesn’t look any different.

It’s only one pre-season game but no one could have liked what they saw from Barnes on the offensive end.

Would have been different if we started Mamu. Jokic would have to actually guard to the 3 point line which Mamu showed off early, as opposed to Mogbo clogging up space. But they probably wanted a look at the bench lineup together since they don't expect Poeltl out that long.

[ConSarnit]

Watching Scottie on offense leaves me constantly shaking my head and questioning how in the hell anyone ever thought he could be a franchise player.

I think it's because we saw him play bully ball like Giannis and how he was able to dominate. It's only we're doubting it because he's been playing away from that style. If he can consistently play that way, it's a wrap.

We’re making him guard Jokic while also facilitate the ball while also expecting him to create shots for himself. He simply does not have the stamina for that. His role on defense should be a roamer, not a point of attack defender. He doesn’t have the energy for that. He gets tired quickly. Regarding Valard’s post. There are countless games where he has shown he can easily be the franchise player regarding his offensive game. We want him to do everything for this team, stretching him thin, while also expecting efficient offense. Some guys are capable of that (Kawhi, Lowry, etc). But not every is. Many superstars aren’t capable of that. His role needs to be more defined but Darko is a clown so it’s taking longer than it should.

This is not a legitimate argument. Barnes has never been tasked with some Luka-like offensive role. He’s never led our team in FGA. He’s never led the team in usage.

We are not asking too much of Barnes. Barnes has to be able to have games where he guards Jokic because he is unable to contribute enough on the offensive end due to his limitations. Barnes needs to be able to play small ball C effectively or else he’s a bad contract.

In no world has Barnes ever shown he be a franchise offensive player. His scoring game is bad and he’s not a good enough creator for others to compensate. He’s a good passer but it’s not enough. There’s no evidence that putting the ball in Barnes’ hands will lead to a good NBA offense.

[HumbleRen]

Kinda crazy how effortlessly BI looked offensively despite not playing an nba game in nearly 300 days.

[Tor_Raps]

Raptors need to remove RJ/Scottie early in games for Ochai/CMB and have them run the 2nd unit.

IQ - Ochai - Ingram - CMB - Poeltl
Shead - Walter/Dick - RJ - Scottie - Sandro

[ATLTimekeeper]

No, it's because we start Mogbo against a guy like Jokic, who guess what on offence. Jokic isn't gonna care of Mogbo shoots any 3's, Mogbo isn't gonna space the floor for 3's, you also don't want Mogbo playing the high post facilitating the offense, so you have Jokic able to roam as a 1.5 help defender any where for any drive, causing issues for anyone who does want to drive because they can't dish to Jokic.

What's nice about Poeltl is not just that he blocks off lanes for drivers, but he's also capable of receiving the ball anywhere to the FT line from a drive and able to score or pass.

We also needed to have guys 6"8 guarding Jokic. It just made it incredibly tilted, for example, when someone on Denver drives, you don't wanna leave Jokic an inch of room, making it harder to help. Meanwhile Denver is all like by all means senor, pass it to Mogbo.

Yeah unfortunately Mogbo doesn't have a short roll and he can't protect the rim. He's RJ's size. His best utility is switching out on the perimeter.

[ConSarnit]

it's 100% a skill. What I meant more so is that there's no physical reasons why Scottie can't become a good screener. Comes down to 1) Scottie willing to learn the skill and 2) the coaching staff guiding him to learn the skill.

Barnes wants to play like a perimeter player. He’s never shown the ability to do the dirty work/big man things like screening and posting-up. If this game was any indication on how we’re going to use Barnes that is a bad sign.

The BI/IQ/RJ trio are a higher usage trio than the Siakam/FVV/OG trio. If Barnes is going to be off ball more I’m not sure how he’s helping our offense. Clearly his shooting doesn’t look any different.

It’s only one pre-season game but no one could have liked what they saw from Barnes on the offensive end.

Would have been different if we started Mamu. Jokic would have to actually guard to the 3 point line which Mamu showed off early, as opposed to Mogbo clogging up space. But they probably wanted a look at the bench lineup together since they don't expect Poeltl out that long.

Maybe, but starting Mamu doesn’t really help us overall considering Poeltl (another zero spacing big) will be starting with Barnes. It also doesn’t solve the usage distribution issue as far as the touches IQ/RJ/BI are going to get. Jokic is also not some great rim deterrent nor did the Nuggets have Gordon in their lineup. Jokic/JV for 48min (no Gordon) is a weak defensive front court.

[Gavin_TDThree]

Screening is a skill. If it was easy, Scottie would be able to do it by now.

it's 100% a skill. What I meant more so is that there's no physical reasons why Scottie can't become a good screener. Comes down to 1) Scottie willing to learn the skill and 2) the coaching staff guiding him to learn the skill.

Barnes wants to play like a perimeter player. He’s never shown the ability to do the dirty work/big man things like screening and posting-up. If this game was any indication on how we’re going to use Barnes that is a bad sign.

The BI/IQ/RJ trio are a higher usage trio than the Siakam/FVV/OG trio. If Barnes is going to be off ball more I’m not sure how he’s helping our offense. Clearly his shooting doesn’t look any different.

It’s only one pre-season game but no one could have liked what they saw from Barnes on the offensive end.

Agreed! Obviously we can't overreact to one game however for me it's not about point total per say, it's how he goes about getting his offence. For example, if he was working in the mid post getting off jumpers or the low block using his size and touch and just happened to miss shots, hey that'll happen! I can live with that kind of shot diet.

The main issue/concern I had was that on offence there didn't seem to be any clear plan on how to deploy him. You would have never guessed that he's the "face" of our team.

He's undoubtedly talented when it comes to his passing/vision and defensive talents. I just want to see a real plan/intent on how he gets his offence.

[YogurtProducer]

I think it's because we saw him play bully ball like Giannis and how he was able to dominate. It's only we're doubting it because he's been playing away from that style. If he can consistently play that way, it's a wrap.

We’re making him guard Jokic while also facilitate the ball while also expecting him to create shots for himself. He simply does not have the stamina for that. His role on defense should be a roamer, not a point of attack defender. He doesn’t have the energy for that. He gets tired quickly. Regarding Valard’s post. There are countless games where he has shown he can easily be the franchise player regarding his offensive game. We want him to do everything for this team, stretching him thin, while also expecting efficient offense. Some guys are capable of that (Kawhi, Lowry, etc). But not every is. Many superstars aren’t capable of that. His role needs to be more defined but Darko is a clown so it’s taking longer than it should.

This is not a legitimate argument. Barnes has never been tasked with some Luka-like offensive role. He’s never led our team in FGA. He’s never led the team in usage.

We are not asking too much of Barnes. Barnes has to be able to have games where he guards Jokic because he is unable to contribute enough on the offensive end due to his limitations. Barnes needs to be able to play small ball C effectively or else he’s a bad contract.

In no world has Barnes ever shown he be a franchise offensive player. His scoring game is bad and he’s not a good enough creator for others to compensate. He’s a good passer but it’s not enough. There’s no evidence that putting the ball in Barnes’ hands will lead to a good NBA offense.

The excuses for Barnes are never ending.

It is not Darkos fault he doesn't have a jumpshot and has questionable effort.

[Boogie!]

IQ, RJ, Ingram were great.

Scottie was good defensively but an absolute liability on offense.

Mamu and the bench were great too.


But yes, I'm worried about Scottie. His shot looks broken. Shoutout BMac Fisher.

Mechanically his shot looks worse. No legs, flat, no lift. Idk what happened man lol.

I'll give him about 10-20 regular season games before making any conclusions but yeah man, he does not look good on offense at all.

Only positive was a somewhat better shot selection (i.e., not chucking up stupid 3s).

Defensively I thought he was great though.

Barnes absolutely needs a 3 point shot if he’s playing next to Ingram though

[AbC?]

Not only does Barnes kind of suck he's also boring to watch on top of that. Should have traded him a few times over by now, but there's still time to cut your losses. If not he's going to get Darko and Bobby fired too lmao, which would be merited if they stick with him.

End the madness.

[Pointgod]

Ochai was a team best +10 yesterday

He should be our 6th man and needs to play a lot more minutes.

Makes threes. Makes layups. Doesn’t demand the ball. Doesn’t make mistakes. Defends well. Good size and athleticism. Very underrated player because he’s so quiet.

He should be starting

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Not only does Barnes kind of suck he's also boring to watch on top of that. Should have traded him a few times over by now, but there's still time to cut your losses. If not he's going to get Darko and Bobby fired too lmao, which would be merited if they stick with him.

End the madness.

The clock's ticking. It's not like we have 30 games to figure it out.

[HumbleRen]

I still think Scottie is insanely valuable as an impact player.

The issue is, he’s not really a complimentary type of player at all on offence. He doesn’t fit in with any archetype that we have on our team outside of BI. He doesn’t make his life easier for his teammates on offence as well.

Scottie and IQ are going to get Darko and Bobby fired in the next 2-3 years and it won’t be Darko’s fault.

[ash_k]

With BI and StarJ averaging 20+ both, Scottie cannot do lower than 18ppg! with 9 boards and 7 assists playing DPOY defense. This Big 3 fits so well together, it is very exciting.
Has Jakob worked on his 3 during the summer?
ROAD TO 50 WINS!

[ForeverTFC]

We’re making him guard Jokic while also facilitate the ball while also expecting him to create shots for himself. He simply does not have the stamina for that. His role on defense should be a roamer, not a point of attack defender. He doesn’t have the energy for that. He gets tired quickly. Regarding Valard’s post. There are countless games where he has shown he can easily be the franchise player regarding his offensive game. We want him to do everything for this team, stretching him thin, while also expecting efficient offense. Some guys are capable of that (Kawhi, Lowry, etc). But not every is. Many superstars aren’t capable of that. His role needs to be more defined but Darko is a clown so it’s taking longer than it should.

This is not a legitimate argument. Barnes has never been tasked with some Luka-like offensive role. He’s never led our team in FGA. He’s never led the team in usage.

We are not asking too much of Barnes. Barnes has to be able to have games where he guards Jokic because he is unable to contribute enough on the offensive end due to his limitations. Barnes needs to be able to play small ball C effectively or else he’s a bad contract.

In no world has Barnes ever shown he be a franchise offensive player. His scoring game is bad and he’s not a good enough creator for others to compensate. He’s a good passer but it’s not enough. There’s no evidence that putting the ball in Barnes’ hands will lead to a good NBA offense.

The excuses for Barnes are never ending.

It is not Darkos fault he doesn't have a jumpshot and has questionable effort.

The offensive philosophy is on Darko. I can't remember us running a single action to get Scottie a good shot last night. The offensive gameplan didn't seem to involve him in any way really.

[dballislife]

barnes is looking more and more like a 15ppg player

iq has nice ball handling but my gawd he cant blow by anyone and get to rim with it, so its pretty useless for a point

ingram and rj will carry our offense this season

i cant believe mamu signed for min...hes very decent

cmb looks strong enough to defend centers

[YogurtProducer]

This is not a legitimate argument. Barnes has never been tasked with some Luka-like offensive role. He’s never led our team in FGA. He’s never led the team in usage.

We are not asking too much of Barnes. Barnes has to be able to have games where he guards Jokic because he is unable to contribute enough on the offensive end due to his limitations. Barnes needs to be able to play small ball C effectively or else he’s a bad contract.

In no world has Barnes ever shown he be a franchise offensive player. His scoring game is bad and he’s not a good enough creator for others to compensate. He’s a good passer but it’s not enough. There’s no evidence that putting the ball in Barnes’ hands will lead to a good NBA offense.

The excuses for Barnes are never ending.

It is not Darkos fault he doesn't have a jumpshot and has questionable effort.

The offensive philosophy is on Darko. I can't remember us running a single action to get Scottie a good shot last night. The offensive gameplan didn't seem to involve him in any way really.

What exactly is an action to get Scottie a good shot, though?

Anything mid range is 100% better suited for Ingram. Towards the rim is Barrett. From 3 is IQ.

Barnes just... doesn't have any positive scoring attributes.

TBH - his best offensive role going forward really is to have no role in a pecking order. He can connect, and hopefully learn to play effectively offball with cuts and corner 3's, but I really honestly don't think you ever draw up a play for Barnes.

[YogurtProducer]

barnes is looking more and more like a 15ppg player

I hope not

But if so, gonna be hilarious looking back on all the anti-Nurse / Siakam / FVV comments when it turns out they were right lol

[ConSarnit]

it's 100% a skill. What I meant more so is that there's no physical reasons why Scottie can't become a good screener. Comes down to 1) Scottie willing to learn the skill and 2) the coaching staff guiding him to learn the skill.

Barnes wants to play like a perimeter player. He’s never shown the ability to do the dirty work/big man things like screening and posting-up. If this game was any indication on how we’re going to use Barnes that is a bad sign.

The BI/IQ/RJ trio are a higher usage trio than the Siakam/FVV/OG trio. If Barnes is going to be off ball more I’m not sure how he’s helping our offense. Clearly his shooting doesn’t look any different.

It’s only one pre-season game but no one could have liked what they saw from Barnes on the offensive end.

Agreed! Obviously we can't overreact to one game however for me it's not about point total per say, it's how he goes about getting his offence. For example, if he was working in the mid post getting off jumpers or the low block using his size and touch and just happened to miss shots, hey that'll happen! I can live with that kind of shot diet.

The main issue/concern I had was that on offence there didn't seem to be any clear plan on how to deploy him. You would have never guessed that he's the "face" of our team.

He's undoubtedly talented when it comes to his passing/vision and defensive talents. I just want to see a real plan/intent on how he gets his offence.

I’m not going to panic but this was my worry prior to this season concerning Barnes offensive role on a “good” team. No good team is going to give him the usage he’s used to having because it’s never generated good results. Imagine this team if we had a better (or even an equivalent) option to Ingram. What role does Barnes have on that team? Barnes is a bad off-ball player. If this team gets better it’s far more likely Barnes sees his offensive role decrease and that makes him even less valuable on offense to the point that it might actually hurt the other players. If he’s not screening and he can’t space the floor why is anyone going to guard him? My guess is this issue rears its head if we find ourselves in the playoffs this year.

I saw posters saying they thought Barnes was great on defense but I didn’t think he was great in the way we need him to be if this is a preview of his offensive role. If this is his destiny on offense we need him to be able to anchor the defense and I didn’t see that last night.

[dballislife]

barnes is looking more and more like a 15ppg player

I hope not

But if so, gonna be hilarious looking back on all the anti-Nurse / Siakam / FVV comments when it turns out they were right lol

i dont want to believe it either but what does scottie have in his bag on offense to make him more than a 15ppg guy???