Scottie Barnes's return leads to Raptors running offence without a point guard

Toronto Raptors' RJ Barrett (left) and Scottie Barnes celebrate after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in NBA basketball action in Toronto on Thursday, November 21, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

The Toronto Raptors have added Scottie Barnes and subtracted the point guard position from their starting lineup.

Barnes, wearing protective goggles with red frames, returned to the Raptors lineup on Thursday night for the first time since he fractured his right orbital bone on Oct. 28. To make space for the all-star forward in Toronto's starting five, head coach Darko Rajakovic made the unorthodox decision of having no point guard.

That choice paid off with the Raptors earning a 110-105 win over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves for Toronto's first back-to-back wins of the season.

"We've got a lot of guys that can ball handle, do a lot of different things out there on the floor," said Barnes after the game, his right eye still completely bloodshot. "As long as we play our offence and do the right things, I feel like everything is going to go great.

"Get the ball over half court pretty fast, just try to run, and then get into what we usually run, our core sets, and then basically just play from there."

Rajakovic said during his pre-game news conference that Barnes would play limited minutes in his return from injury but the all-star forward was still effective, finishing with 17 points, six assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes of play.

His greatest impact was felt in the fourth quarter.

Barnes returned to the floor with 5:43 left to play and Toronto trailling by three points. He assisted on a three-pointer by Montreal's Chris Boucher 23 seconds later, kicking off a 13-2 run that turned the game around for the Raptors.

"Scottie Barnes. Man, that was fun," said RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont. "I think specifically for me personally, I think you kind of see when we were down and then just him being in the game, the energy that he brought (was huge).

"I just think everybody, all together, played great having Scottie in the lineup for us. He's a special player."

Barrett scored a game-high 31 points and had seven rebounds and three assists for Toronto (4-12). Jakob Poeltl had a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards, with Boucher scoring 22 points off the bench.

Immanuel Quickley, the Raptors starting point guard, was still out with a partially torn UCL in his left elbow. Davion Mitchell had been playing the point with Barnes out but because Mitchell is a defensive specialist Barrett had often led the team's offence.

The Canadian's strong performance as a playmaker gave Rajakovic the confidence to go with a no-point guard starting lineup.

"The amount of pick and rolls and situations that RJ was handling, and the way he handled playmaking and scoring just gave me more confidence that I can play with both (Barrett and Barnes), that they can share the responsibilities of a point guard," said Rajakovic.

As far as Barnes is concerned, having no designated point guard actually plays to Toronto's strength.

"We've got a lot of guys that can run, so we've got to run and get the ball out," he said. "We've had that as a main emphasis since we started the season and we've just got to stick with that.

"We're just doing the right things each and every day. We're putting in a hard effort, working together collectively to try to get this W."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.