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Scottie Barnes locked down James Harden in pickup and earned props from The Beard

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Scottie Barnes locked down James Harden in pickup and earned props from The Beard

The NBA is finally experiencing a ‘normal’ offseason after the period between the last two seasons has been accelerated because of the pandemic. This is the first time since the 2019 that there’s been a real down period in the league, and that means a return to the summer workout videos that usually provides the NBA’s only entertainment in August. A few years back, we detailed Ben Simmons ripping jumpers and Anthony Davis handling the ball like a guard in their summer workout videos. That’s partially because summer is a time for experimentation and testing out the boundaries of a player’s skill set. For some players, though, summer runs are about getting back to what you do best. That is certainly the case for reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes as he took part in the famed Rico Hines pickup games in Los Angeles. Hines is known for bringing out the stars to his LA open runs, and over the last few weeks James Harden, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Haliburton, Montrezl Harrell, and others were part of the group So was the 21-year-old Barnes, who brought his signature mix of defense and intensity to pickup. Barnes’ defense on Harden was so impressive that it went viral over the weekend. Scottie Barnes out here picking up Harden almost full court and clapping in his face.This is what you like to see. pic.twitter.com/x4NwMOU3cC— Libaan Osman (@libaanstar1) You can watch the full run on YouTube. There are a lot of familiar faces from the Toronto Raptors sharing the court together in this particular run, including OG Anunoby, Thad Young, and Gary Trent Jr. In addition to Barnes’ fantastic defense, here’s a clip of him blocking Harden on a drive. After the run, Harden gave Barnes props for playing so hard in this setting. Harden gave Barnes perhaps the biggest compliment one hooper can give another by saying he’s ‘got that dog in him. Harden giving Scottie some love pic.twitter.com/8AtOwcNkzh— ᴀᴄʜ™ (@StepbackAch) Of course, Harden also had his moments with Barnes defending him earlier in the week at the Hines runs. Harden is going to hit his stepbacks on anyone, no matter how good your defense is. Both Harden and Barnes are at fascinating inflection points in their careers heading into this season. Harden is back in Philadelphia after taking a massive pay-cut to re-sign with the Sixers earlier this summer. Last we saw Harden, he was still an All-Star caliber player, but no longer the same perennial MVP candidate who dominated the NBA (regular season) for the last seven years. As the Sixers bowed out in the playoffs, teammate Joel Embiid said Harden isn’t the same player he once was in Houston. Can Harden regain his All-NBA form? The first step will be showing he still has the same burst with the basketball that he was once known for. It sure doesn’t look like he can burn Barnes off the bounce. Meanwhile, Barnes’ name has been loosely tied to the Kevin Durant trade rumors all summer. The Raptors can likely land Durant in a trade if they part with Barnes. To this point, they haven’t been willing to do that. For as great as Barnes was last year, he’ll have to avoid the sophomore slump and continue to improve his game if he doesn’t want fans questioning why they kept him instead of making a move for KD. At least Barnes and Harden don’t have beef like Paolo Banchero and Dejounte Murray over a pickup run. This is just good, clean competitiveness in a summer setting. The NBA offseason really is back to normal.
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29 of March 2024