Curry entered the league stamped as a shooter, of course, but he was able to wow and surprise opposing teams and fans because of his stupendous range and quick trigger.
Pascal Siakam, Norman Powell and OG Anunoby are considered the success stories of the Raptors’ shooting program, but outside of the surprising potency, Barnes’ shot diet shares virtually no similarities to theirs.
The rapid burst of self-creation that Barnes has shown at the NBA level is a sight to behold, but even the most bullish of his pre-draft supporters wouldn’t have predicted 41 percent on pull-up triples, albeit on low volume.
Barnes’ willingness to try will likely be a defining feature of his NBA career, and it’s exactly why the trajectory of his outside shot is categorically different than what the Raptors have been teasing out of players before him.
Once Siakam returned from injury and started bending the defense in this way, Barnes started to form up off of Siakam’s drives — mirroring his movements, maintaining passing lanes, and hitting threes with a chasm of space between him and his defender.
Credit to Siakam for creating advantages, yes, but for Barnes to take all of this in stride as a rookie, to bypass the mental blocks that no doubt existed for him and to shoot with no hesitation — a hell of a player.
The Warriors game earlier in the season was Barnes’ first multi-triple game, and the start of this 11-game run of shooting.
But, with his run of form starting against the Warriors, and Curry recently setting the record, what a unique opportunity to check in.
