ORLANDO If you’re a critic picking apart Scottie Barnes’ struggles 26 games into his blasé second season with theHis raw production is down only a small amount, from 15.3 points a game to 14.0. And folks are acting like it’s an enormous deal.
It’s not simply that Barnes’s offensive numbers are down slightly, or that he’s shooting poorly, which he is. It’s that he’s played too often like he’s not engaged — at least, not engaged to the liking of head coach Nick Nurse, who is known for exacting standards of work ethic, particularly on defence.
“They were just attacking the paint — layup, layup, layup,” Barnes said. “We’ve just got to stand in there and contest shots. I feel like we’ve just got to be better defensively. We came out flat at the defensive end, and at the offensive end I felt like it was kind of stagnant. We’ve just got to be better.”
At the same time, public shaming comes with risk. And Nurse acknowledged that Barnes’ sudden ascent to rookie of the year came with potential downside. The term “sophomore slump” is a thing for a reason, after all.