Why Scottie Barnes scores more in the 4th quarter

Brian Macon, Scottie Barnes' trainer, discusses why the sophomore seemingly waits until the 4th quarter to become aggressive as a scorer. Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen on the 'Raptors Over Everything' podcast feed.

Video Transcript

AMIT MANN: --and even, at points, being aggressive yourself. It's like an ongoing thing around here that people are just like, yeah, so fourth quarter comes around, here comes Scottie. [LAUGHS] Right? Here he comes looking for his shots and making shots--

CJ MILES: That's the best time to have him.

AMIT MANN: --to get to this one.

CJ MILES: That's the best time to have him.

AMIT MANN: It's true. It's true. But, I mean, how many--

CJ MILES: You've got to be honest.

AMIT MANN: Yeah. I mean, how many players before him have done the exact same thing? They spend three quarters, three and a half quarters. We saw Kyle Lowry do it. He always did that, right--

BRIAN MACON: Yeah.

AMIT MANN: --you know, facilitate--

BRIAN MACON: Yeah.

AMIT MANN: --get everyone motivated, get everyone feeling good, get everyone feeling like they're going to make the next shot. And then when it comes to it, you know, you're down by 4 or 5 with 5:00 minutes left, and it's like, all right. Well, let's bring this home.

BRIAN MACON: Yeah.

CJ MILES: But how much easier does that make the game on him in the fourth, also, by playing that way? If Fred's hit four 3's, Pascal's got 28, OG's got 17, whoever else is on the floor has gotten three dunks, because he's doing dump offs, now, when I go into my spacing, and I get this elbow ISO, who's coming?

BRIAN MACON: Yeah, it's true.

CJ MILES: Who's coming to help? You can if you want. But like I'm going to just have 9 assists instead of 22. But either way, it's the right play.

BRIAN MACON: Yeah. And, I mean, we've just been encouraging him like-- because sometimes, he just wouldn't shoot the ball at all-- just to continue to just get a couple up. You know what I mean? Just get a couple of just so you can stay in a rhythm. And you-- and-- you know what I mean-- going back to like the player development side of it, yeah, he's got to identify when does the other team have four fouls? When can I get an easy foul, get to the line? When can-- you know, they're on an 8-0 run.

AMIT MANN: Chess not checkers right there.

BRIAN MACON: Yeah. They're on a 8-- they're on-- the other team's on a 8-0 run. Like how can I, you know, maybe get a step up, force the switch, and get us an easy basket? You know what I mean? So like-- and those are just kind of like the game within the game, the little intricacies of him becoming a point guard-- like a really good point guard. Like he's got to identify the flow of the game.

And I think he's got enough skill level to dictate the flow of the game. You know, he's just-- it just takes a little bit more focus, and experience, and just understanding-- you know what I mean-- everything that's going on [INAUDIBLE]. Because he's, basically, like the heartbeat of the game, where he can just feel what's going on. Oh, this guy's got it going or Pascal's-- we need to get Pascal an easy one.

Because he's struggling maybe this game. Or maybe let's get Fred an easy catch and shooter from the corner because whatever. Or maybe Fred is hitting, so I'm going to go-- go screen with Fred. I'm going to turn the corner and get something easier. You know what I mean? Just a small intricacies of the game that, you know, it's just experience most of those things.

CJ MILES: Yeah, that's it.

BRIAN MACON: Then you just got to-- like we can't-- there's not a drill for that stuff. You know, it's just watching film, correcting it, going back, and look at the time on the score. You know, they just went on a 6-0 run. Yo, you got to hunt your matchups. And you got to be more aggressive in their space just so those runs don't be 10 to 2.

You know what I mean? If they're 8-- if they're 8 to 2 or 6 to 2, that's all the-- You know, when it's time for you to be you in the fourth quarter, now, you don't have to fight and claw as much. You know what I mean? You just got to make a play here and a play there, and you guys are right there for the win.

CJ MILES: Yeah, we used to always say, ain't no drill, no two on two, one on one, none of that can substitute for minutes. It don't matter how many games you win, how many practice things you win, how many-- like we used to get the belt. In Toronto, you know, you get the belt in training camp.

No matter how many times you take that belt home, it cannot substitute for no real minutes in the game. And you always hear guys talk about the game slowing down. Like everybody uses that term. It's just familiarity. That's what it is. It's not that the people are moving slower. You just know what's going on--

BRIAN MACON: Right.

CJ MILES: --and just aware. And the more aware you can be, then the more aware like-- those point guards, the elite point guards, they-- their awareness is at a height of like-- I didn't have it. That wasn't--

BRIAN MACON: Right.

CJ MILES: I didn't have that. That wasn't part of my game. But to put in-- to be able to play the game the way they play it, and have a tab on everything that's going on, and mess with the coats, the other team's coats, and be knowing the plays that's being called on their side, and know what plays are I'm going to run-- like Earl Watson was one of the first point guards that--