On April 18, Beijing time, the NBA officially announced the candidates for the best rookie: Cavaliers Detective Evan Mobley, Raptors No. 4 coach Scotty Barnes and Pistons Champion Cade Cunningham. According to NBA reporter Jordan Schultz, Barnes will miss the first round of G2 in the playoffs.
With 9:09 left in the fourth quarter in Philadelphia and the Raptors' playoff G1, Embiid attacked with the ball and stepped on Barnes' foot as he turned. Barnes suffered a 90-degree injury to his left foot and was in pain after falling to the ground and could not get up for a long time. In the end, Barnes was helped away by his teammates, and the X-ray test after the game was negative (no structural damage).
This was Barnes' personal playoff debut, and he didn't expect to retire from injury in the first game. He played 32 minutes, shooting 4-of-6 and 7-of-9 from the free throw line, with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 block. Barnes was named the Best Rookie of the East in April last week, and Barnes is also firmly in second place on the official rookie list. He is expected to compete with Mobley for best rookie!
In the regular season in April, Barnes averaged 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, shooting 50% from the field, and he has become the biggest favorite for the best rookie. Although Mobley has occupied the top spot in the rookie list in a row, according to the voting choices released by some reporters, more than half of the votes have been given to Barnes.
Barnes played 74 regular season games this season, starting all of them. He averaged 35.4 minutes per game and had 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks, shooting 49.2%, 30.1% and 73.5% from three fields.
Mobley played 69 games for the Cavaliers, starting all of them. He averaged 33.8 minutes per game and had 15 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.7 blocks, shooting 51%, 25% and 65.9% from three fields.
Mobley's average rebounds, blocks, shooting percentage and double-doubles are the first of this year's rookies. Barnes also has an advantage: the team's record. The Raptors ranked fifth in the East with 48 wins and 34 losses in the regular season, and the Cavaliers ranked eighth in the East with 44 wins and 38 losses, but lost two consecutive games in the playoffs and missed the playoffs. A month after Allen's injury, Mobley failed to hold up the Cavaliers' interior line.
ESPN selected the top 25 under-25 players, with the top five being Doncic, Tatum, Morant, Trae Young and three goals. The 2021 rookies also made the list, with Cunningham 6th, Barnes 13th, Mobley 15th and Jaylen Green 21st. These four happen to be in the top four of the 2021 draft, but No. 4 Barnes is second.
Scotty Barnes was born on July 31, 2001, with a height of 2.03 meters, an arm span of 2.20 meters, a standing height of 2.74 meters, and an amazing shoulder width. In high school, he attended Montverde College and was a teammate of Cunningham, leading the team to 25 consecutive wins. After graduating from high school, Barnes chose Florida State University.
In his freshman year, Barnes averaged 10.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game, shooting 50.3%, 27.5% and 62.1% from three fields. Looking at these data alone, it seems that it is not worthy of the identity of the No. 4 show. Barnes' real value is on the defensive end, he can defend from no. 1 to no. 4, and has a certain passing and organizational ability.
Although the Raptors have Anunoby and Siakam, they still choose Barnes, whose positions overlap almost, which also shows his potential. Every player has weaknesses and strengths, and Barnes' biggest weakness is shooting, averaging just 0.68 points per jump shot in college and not passing the 30.1 percent three-point shooting percentage this season.