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All eyes were on Scottie Barnes on Friday night as the mundane — better known as preseason basketball — resumed for the Raptors.
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This exercise in futility is rarely of any value. For some, it's an opportunity to make a good impression.
And for someone like Barnes, who enters his fourth season as the face of the Raptors franchise, at least something was on the line against the host Washington Wizards, who they basically ran off the court last Sunday in Montreal.
Barnes hasn't seen an NBA court since March 1, when the Raptors hosted the Golden State Warriors. He injured his hand in the loss and missed the remaining 22 games of the season.
Barnes spent part of the summer playing basketball with his teammates, but finally facing a real NBA opponent on Friday should be seen as an initial step as he prepares for next season.
What fans saw in the Raptors' 113-95 loss was an aggressive – sometimes overly aggressive – Barnes, who was even more careless. In the six minutes he was on the field in the first half, he had more turnovers (4) than hits (3).
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Barnes didn't get to the foul line and was called for a foul on a push-off after a miss by Ochai Agbaji, who started in place of the injured RJ Barrett.
Barrett, Kelly Olynyk and Immanuel Quickley were also unavailable. Barrett, who was injured in Montreal, is not expected to return during the preseason. Without three of Toronto's best players available, it was nearly impossible to properly evaluate Barnes' first game.
He participated in Toronto's first six points in a first quarter marked by team turnovers and inaccessible stretches. He made three two-point shots, but missed both.
Dribbling action with Jakob Poeltl resulted in Barnes' first bucket as he drove the lane. Then came a mid-range jumper followed by a nice pass in transition when he found Poeltl driving to the rim.
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Barnes re-entered late in the first quarter and recorded his first rebound after a Washington miss and then forced the Wizards to send in an extra defender when he had the ball in his hands late in the period. The right read and play were made, but the Raptors missed open looks from the perimeter.
After the first quarter, the Raptors led 25-18 through 12 minutes of horribly played basketball.
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Once the Wizards started to bring some level of intensity, the game became a little more watchable.
With no healthy players even remotely close to Barnes' skill level, he tried to do too much instead of playing with the flow of the game, which was to be expected.
Defensively, there wasn't much to glean. He started the night facing Kyle Kuzma, a perplexing veteran who can still play.
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Unfortunately, Kuzma was content to remain in the corner pocket. When he came off the ball, he forced Barnes to commit a foul. Barnes was slow to move his feet, which led the referee to rightfully whistle him for a blocking infraction.
The first seven minutes were unremarkable, highlighted by a Kuzma free throw, numerous traveling violations and 13 combined turnovers. Damn!
At least Chris Boucher seemed to take the night seriously as he pushed for a possible rotation spot.
Where he fits in, though, if he gets anywhere, is anyone's guess. If there were any serious suitors for him on the trade market, Boucher would be elsewhere. But congratulations on your level of competition.
In eight minutes, Boucher scored 12 points and knocked down six rebounds, which demonstrates his professionalism and preparation.
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The night also allowed Bruno Fernando to see a few minutes. Toronto signed the big man as a free agent this summer after he played in 45 games last season for the Atlanta Hawks.
Gradey Dick made his first 3-pointer of the preseason when he hit a shot with 4:36 left in the second quarter that gave Toronto a 43-33 lead.
Later, Alex Sarr, who Washington selected second overall in June, drilled his second three-pointer of the game as the Wizards began to pull away.
A Raptors turnover followed by a Dick miss at the rim allowed the Wizards to take a 48-47 halftime lead. Summarizing the first half, consider that the Raptors had more turnovers (11) than assists (9).
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The second half started much like the first, with Barnes stealing the show, this time forcing a steal near midcourt and scoring on an uncontested dunk. He would then control a defensive rebound and run the length of the court before his shot attempt was blocked near the rim.
Barnes' movement was much more fluid in the second half. He kept the ball alive on the back end after a missed free throw, but then missed his fifth 3-pointer on his fifth attempt.
That night, he played 20 minutes, scoring 16 points on 7-of-15 from the field, no rebounds from distance, collecting eight rebounds, one assist and five turnovers.
He justifiably never saw the floor in the fourth quarter.
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