Toronto should adore RJ Barrett. He is, after all, one of us. He grew up just down the road. And all he wants to do is win with the Raptors. All he wants to do is star in this place he has always called home. And star at a time when it matters most.
Barrett scored 33 points in Game 3 of the playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night – the same number of points that superstars James Harden and Donovan Mitchell combined for last night — but it was in the fourth quarter, the time when the biggest and best step up in the NBA, that Barrett took over. He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter in a 126-104 win over the Cavs. Mitchell scored four points in the fourth quarter. Harden scored five.
And some Raptor we needed google to find named Jamison Battle, who was used all of three minutes in the first two games of the series, scored 14 in the fourth quarter as well, hitting four three pointers on four shots. But really the night belonged to Barrett, playing his first playoff game in Toronto, first home playoff game for the Raptors. The night also belonged the brilliance of Scottie Barnes, who did everything possible to enable the Raptors to win. And also belonged to the rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, who scored 22 points in 28 minutes, brought down eight rebounds, built a little like Wes Unseld, the kind of player you can certainly fall in love with for the next decade or so.
But it's a whole different story for Barrett. He played for Team Canada at the Paris Olympics. His dad, who played with Steve Nash in the Olympics in 2000, was general manager of the team. If there is such a thing as a flag of Mississauga, he carries it around with him while looking to find his place with the Raptors. And late Thursday night, in the hallway just outside the Raptors dressing room, Barrett stood with his father, Rowan, with his manager, soaking up all that could be soaked up after a game such as this one.
The Raptors led by two after three quarters. That's how close this was. The usual raucous Toronto playoff crowd was surprisingly lacking energy Thursday night. This looked like the kind of game the Raptors could normally let slip away. Except the opposite happened. They blasted the Cavs in the fourth quarter. Coach Darko Rajakovic benched the $40 million man, Brandon Ingram, and the Raptors took over the game. Barrett was six for six shooting, three for three shooting from three point land, was plus-23 in 10:26 he played with the Raptors outscoring the Cavs 43-23.
Barrett and Barnes and Battle and Murray-Boyles — the new Killer B's – put the Raptors in a position to tie the series up 2-2 on Sunday afternoon. And away from the playoff noise, if you often listen to the daily talk about basketball around Toronto all year, you'll also hear this: The Raptors have to trade Barrett. They can't win with him. They have to move him if they want to get better. They have to if they can make the salary cap work. What isn't said often: The Raptors were 35-25 in the 60 games he played this season.
"He's destroying everything people think of him," said Scottie Barnes, who also scored 33 points himself while playing superb defence, leading, and doing what superstars are supposed to do. The everything us the you have to trade Barrett crew. The thought process goes against almost everything we love about sports. Toronto wants its own to be brilliant. It wants its own to be giants. It doesn't want Mitch Marner questions and wonders. It wants RJ Barrett and all that he brings. It wants Barrett and everything he believes in. It wants these kind of moments and these kind of nights from those we should feel closest to.
In the morning Thursday, Barrett drove downtown for the game, knew the day felt different, knew there was a special nature to Game 3, knew that after the Raptors led by six after one quarter, tied at the half, almost tied at the end of three quarters. Then Barrett put on a show. A show after he scored 46 points in the first two losses in Cleveland. He is averaging 26 points a game through three games. Which is more than Mitchell or Harden are averaging in the series.
"There was only one thought on his mind," said coach Rajakovic. "How to win the game. Man, he is a warrior," said the coach. "Fighting, living it all, defending, rebounding. I thought he had a high level performance tonight. I attributed that to his power and his will."
The Greater Toronto Area has has an incredible run producing NBA players. Barrett from Mississauga. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Hamilton. Jamal Murray from Kitchener. Dillon Brooks also from Mississauga. All of them special NBA players. Only one of them a Raptor. Only one of them ours. For now. Hopefully forever.
