Cavaliers, Kenny Atkinson name one Raptors' Scottie Barnes skill to limit in NBA Playoffs originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a goal for Game 3 and that is to practically end their first-round NBA Playoffs series. James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and Evan Mobley have all been great but taking a commanding 3-0 lead will be hard. This is why Coach Kenny Atkinson added a prong to their set of objectives: shut down Scottie Barnes' ability to make plays for the Toronto Raptors.
So far, Scottie Barnes has been the living engine of the Raptors. He scores 23.5 points through a 51.5% clip from the field while getting a steal per night. Coach Kenny Atkinson knows that getting to the basket is not the best skill that the Raptors star has to offer. He noted that the Cavaliers need to shut down Barnes' passing and playmaking more than anything else, via Eric Koreen of The Athletic.
"He’s a really good passer. I think he’s the 96th percentile in potential assists. You’ve got to keep your eyes open. When he drives, he’s going to find shooters. I’m really impressed by the leap he took this year," the Cavaliers head coach said.
Coach Atkinson would be right in this observation. He saw it firsthand in the Cavaliers' two first-round games against the Raptors. Barnes was able to dish out six assists per game. These are just in line with his season average of 5.9 assists but that number can go higher as the Raptors enter desperation mode and look to Barnes for answers.
There are a lot of ways that the Cavaliers led by James Harden and Donovan Mitchell could guard Barnes so that he does not become a great floor general in their NBA Playoffs Game 3 bout. Coach Atkinson could blitz him in the corner, prevent him from finding an open man from the elbow, or just simply funneling all of the scoring to Barnes by sagging off on him while trapping every other Raptors player on the floor.
Barnes is due for a big game in assists and defense. Will the Cavaliers suppress him to notch the commanding 3-0 lead in the first-round of the NBA Playoffs?