On Thursday evening, Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors dropped to a frustrating record of 16-26 on the 2023-24 NBA season with a narrow 116-110 home loss to the Chicago Bulls. Although Barnes played extremely well in this one, scoring 31 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists, ultimately the Raptors were unable to overcome strong performances from DeMar DeRozan, Coby White, and Nikola Vucevic of the Bulls.
Still, the night marked a milestone achievement for Barnes, as he has now tied franchise icon Chris Bosh with his eighth career game with 30 or more points, five or more rebounds, and five or more assists. Barnes and Bosh are now tied for seventh place in Raptors franchise history in that department, via Keerthika Uthayakumar of TSN Sports on X.
Scottie Barnes has indeed shown great improvement in virtually all areas of the game so far in 2023-24, leading some to wonder whether a Most Improved Player award may be in store for the youngster once the regular season concludes in April. Despite Barnes’ ascension, the Raptors have been unable to rack up wins consistently so far this season, even after the recent acquisition of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley from the New York Knicks in exchange for OG Anunoby. Of course, Toronto also did just part ways with franchise stalwart Pascal Siakam, dealing him to the Indiana Pacers.
Still, Barnes’ continued improvement has given fans something to cheer about amidst the frustration. Up next for the Raptors is a road game against the Knicks on January 20.
More must-reads: