CLEVELAND – After the Raptors’ gritty Game 4 win over Cleveland, RJ Barrett was reflecting on his head-to-head battle with Cavaliers all-star guard Donovan Mitchell and recalled an old interview with P.J. Tucker.
The two-time former Raptor and 14-year NBA veteran was a guest on JJ Redick’s podcast, The Old Man and The Three, back in 2021. Tucker was asked about guarding Kevin Durant during the iconic second-round series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets from a few months prior.
Tucker’s Bucks went on to win the championship that season, but they needed seven games – and an overtime period in Game 7 – to get past Brooklyn as Durant averaged 35.4 points in that series. Each game, KD would fill up the stat sheet, as great players do. One of the toughest perimeter defenders in recent memory, Tucker would come back the next game, challenge the future Hall of Famer to the best of his ability, and as he told Redick, dare him to do it again.
Barrett has been trying to adopt the same mentality in his matchup with Mitchell, the NBA’s seventh-leading scorer over the course of the regular season.
“I think Donovan has had success on me in this series,” Barrett said of Mitchell, who totalled 62 points on 43 shots in the first two games, both Cavs wins.
“But I’m going to be there, I’m going to fight to the best of my abilities, my teammates are going to have my back, and I’m just going to [continue] to guard.”
The Raptors swingman isn’t exactly known for his defence, and it’s probably not the first thing that jumps out about his fantastic playoff debut for his hometown team.
Through four games, Barrett is Toronto’s second-leading scorer, barely trailing Scottie Barnes. He’s averaging 24.3 points and shooting 55 per cent from the field (48 per cent from three-point range), while playing more minutes than everyone but Barnes.
Going into Tuesday’s slate of games, he was leading the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring. His offence has been essential, especially with Brandon Ingram – the team’s leading scorer during the regular season – struggling.
But, as former Raptors coach Dwane Casey used to say, he is also telling on himself with the way he’s defending in this series.
“There’s a narrative that he couldn’t guard, but I think it’s just because he didn’t want to for a while,” said Jamal Shead, jokingly, with Barrett listening in on his Tuesday afternoon post-practice press conference.
Since returning home for Games 3 and 4, the Raptors’ defensive resurgence has allowed them to claw their way back into and even up the series at two wins apiece. Making life more difficult on the Cavs backcourt duo of Mitchell and Harden – who got whatever they wanted in Cleveland – has been a crucial part of that turnaround.
Mitchell combined for 35 points and shot 33 per cent in the two Toronto wins, while Harden totalled 37 points on 41 per cent shooting after dropping 50 on 53 per cent in Cleveland. Together, they committed 22 of their team’s 40 turnovers.
Barnes has served as the primary defender on Harden and is rightly getting the bulk of the credit for Toronto’s inspired defensive performance on Sunday, a 93-89 win in which the Raptors shot just 32 per cent from the field. Shead and Ja’Kobe Walter have also done their part to limit Cleveland’s guards. But don’t overlook Barrett’s efforts.
According to NBA.com matchup data, Barrett has guarded Harden on 57.2 partial defensive possessions. In that time, the future Hall of Famer posted just eight points on 2-of-15 shooting, while missing all 10 of his three-point attempts and committing four turnovers, with only three assists. To Barrett’s point, Mitchell has had more success against him, scoring 27 points on 40.7 partial possessions, but the Mississauga, Ont., native has made him work – he needed 24 shots to score those 27 points.
With Barnes seeing more time on Harden as the series has gone on, Barrett has been asked to wrestle with Cleveland’s bigs, Evan Mobley (who has five inches on him) and Jarrett Allen (who has 30 pounds on him), in the post. He’s more than held his own.
“Results show,” Barnes said of Barrett. “I think he’s been doing a great job of being able to guard the ball, being able to be in the paint, guarding the bigs, switching roles throughout the game. He’s been big-time for us.”
One of the great things about the playoffs is that it tends to expose players, for better or for worse. We find out what guys are really made of – who is tough enough, who is physical enough, who can block out the noise, handle the pressure, and rise the occasion, and who cannot.
Consider Barrett’s background. The son of a former professional basketball player and Canadian Olympian, Rowan Barrett, he was born and raised to play the sport at the highest level. He spent his lone collegiate season playing at Duke and the first five years of his NBA career under the New York City spotlight. He’s not easily fazed.
“Just being a dog,” Barrett said of his postseason mentality. “You gotta win the game. You’ve gotta do whatever it takes to win.”
“He’s calm, he’s never scared,” said Shead. “There’s not a shot that he takes in those fourth quarters that we’re like, oh, that’s not RJ’s shot. We’re cool with it. He’s been big-time for us all year and he’s showing it in the playoffs.”
It couldn’t be coming at a better time for the young vet, who is extension eligible again during the off-season, and if he doesn’t get a new contract this summer, will be going into the final year of a deal that pays him nearly $30 million in 2026-27. He’ll be looking for a raise, and given how much money Toronto already has invested in Barnes, Ingram, Immanuel Quickley, and Jakob Poeltl, it would be challenging to pay Barrett while also tiptoeing around the league’s luxury tax line.
It’s the biggest reason why his name has continuously come up in trade speculation and could resurface again this summer. But, at 25, Barrett is showing that he can reach another level and bring something new, something the Raptors might determine they can’t do without.
What have we learned about RJ Barrett? He is certified playoff tough.
“Any time that there is a playoff series, any time there are hard times, I think you see what a player is made of,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We’re constantly finding out there is more… Whatever was your best the day before, once you reach that, you’re searching for new highs. That’s what this playoff series is showing us. There is more RJ can do.
“He’s gonna try to do whatever it takes to help the team win. In this playoff series, besides his scoring, it’s his ability to guard his matchup. He’s stepping up to that and doing a really good job.”
