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Scottie Barnes is perfectly comfortable guarding big men

With Khem Birch out, the Raptors have relied on Scottie Barnes to guard big men in the paint and in the glass, like they did with Al Horford and Enes Kanter in the loss to the Celtics. The rookie is more than up for the task.

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Video Transcript

- Go ahead with your questions to Scottie, please.

- So you seem to take to Nick's message to take more three's? Wow. What was it about tonight that allowed to get the rip open, and to get more comfortable taking those shots.

SCOTTIE BARNES: Well, they was helping off my man. My man was helping off me a lot, really trying to be in the gaps. So most of the time I was just wide open. And they've been encouraging me to shoot, so once I get a wide-open shot, I'm just going to shoot it.

- Nick was obviously willing to take you out of the first quarter, second, and say I kicked you, and he was happy with your response. What did you take from that moment?

SCOTTIE BARNES: I came off the games, really starting real slow. Quick two turnovers, bad turnover. But it was just, it's something at a game. Made a quick sub, beat them, there, really good when we made that sub. So it's really nothing. I was just come back in the game, just try to play hard, play better, play smarter. Lock in and be more focused. So it was really just, it was like a good thing to do.

- What's it like for you to hear Nick, and Fred was telling us he's on you to make sure you're shooting all these, everyone started telling you to shoot. What's that like for you, sort of in practice, hearing that support?

SCOTTIE BARNES: If I'm open and I've got good looks, why not shoot the ball? So it's not really something that's so big. It's just, if I'm open, and just shoot the ball, everybody just been occurred to him, we all believe in each other, that we all can shoot. So, like I said, if I have open looks, and shoot the ball.

- Fred was saying that they're giving you a lot of space, which is why you've been able to be more aggressive with that three-point shot. You continue taking it, and you continue knocking them down. How much do you think that'll do in terms of opening things up for your game in terms of your options and what you can do offensively?

SCOTTIE BARNES: I think I'll be able to space the floor more. I would be able to allow other people to get drive rooms. Me being able to knock it down, of course, is going to give people more assists. It's just going to help things open up for us as a team.

- You ever take 9 three-pointers in a game?

SCOTTIE BARNES: Never in my life.

- Never made four in a game?

SCOTTIE BARNES: Yeah, in high school, I remember one game. Actually I think I did take nine. I remember high school. I made 7 three's in one game before.

- But that was it?

- Is that something you're conscious about during the game, you know, are you looking at the scoreboard? Or are you thinking, you know, you have a set limit for yourself, or are you just base your call?

SCOTTIE BARNES: Repeat that?

- If you have like a conscious limit in your head of, you know, how many three's you want to take, or, you know, when you see the number rising, what are you telling yourself?

SCOTTIE BARNES: That solving this, felt really good, that edge, felt a little bit good today. So I just shot a little bit.

- What year was that in high school?

SCOTTIE BARNES: Like 10th, 11th grade. I think 11th grade.

- You're defending a lot more bigs, fives, even Enes Kanter, tonight. Especially with Khem Birch out of the lineup, they're going to kind of ask you to do that. Has that been the challenge, like on the glass? Specifically, has that been an adjustment coming out of college, like having to out-rebound these seven footers?

SCOTTIE BARNES: Well, not really. I did that in college. We switched 1 through 5, so I was going big in college. But even during the beginning of the season, I was still guarding bigs. So I want to say, it's not a huge adjustment. Just, we just got to team rebound, keep putting bodies on the bigs, because they just plant themselves right under the paint and try to get those rebounds.

But it's really just on us to be aggressive, be physical down there, just man up.

- Is communication part of that team rebounding thing, that maybe you guys need effort?

SCOTTIE BARNES: I would just say we always emphasize it all the time. Just try to put like two or three bodies on Enes Kanter down low, because he's just such a big body, trying to force his way inside the paint. So we just try to make a team emphasis on that.

But we just got to, it's on us to execute that.

- Did you have a snow job?

SCOTTIE BARNES: I saw it. It was a good thing to see. I didn't really get hit by it. I just got in my car, from the garage, and went to this garage, and I was perfectly fine.

[LAUGHTER]

- That would be a driving foul. How was your driving going to support you?

SCOTTIE BARNES: It was in no traffic, for me. I got here pretty faster than usual.

- So as much as we both, sir, there is some question here.

- We've been told like you work on a shipping program, test the delivery equipment. But you got drafted. So not like tonight, was it validating, you know, like all the work that you put in, to see, to have a night like this?

SCOTTIE BARNES: Oh, they believe in me, coaches, staff, players, they believe in me. They just keep encouraging me to just be confident down on the floor, being able to shoot the ball when I got open shots, and of course, it was just going to be, it's a lot of hard work that's put into it. So I'd be afraid to.

- Thank you, Scott.