TORONTO -- Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley were two of four eligible players who received maximum-level extensions between their third and fourth years this offseason. There was not much controversy about either deal, but there were nitpicks.
Barnes hasn't proved he can take a star's load while leading an efficient attack. He had a career-high true shooting percentage last year, but his efficiency tailed off as he was moved toward the heart of the Toronto Raptors' rebuild following the trades of OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. Barnes had a 54.7 true shooting percentage after the Siakam trade compared to 57.5 percent before it. Before Barnes could adjust, he broke a bone in his middle finger on March 1, ending his season.
Mobley, meanwhile, earned a First Team All-Defensive Team spot in his second season, but missed 32 games last year because of knee and ankle injuries. His Cleveland Cavaliers had a deeply weird season, excelling while they had significant injuries but struggling to look cohesive when they were healthier. He had some big games as the Cavs' playoff run ended, but those were played without his fellow starting big, Jarrett Allen.
It was less than three years from Wednesday's season opener for both teams, a 136-106 Cavaliers win, that both Barnes and Mobley seemed like can't-miss prospects, future foundational pieces whose first matchup necessitated minute-by-minute documentation. In their own ways, they have both lived up to that moment -- hence the $225 million contracts.
They were rookies then, ultimately separated by a mere 15 voting points in postseason award voting. They were shiny and new, with all sorts of predictions -- top-10 player! Defensive Player of the Year! Finals MVP! -- seeming plausible. Now that they have settled into their careers and the contexts of their teams, they seem like they're in different spots than we might have expected in November 2021.
At the time, the Cavaliers seemed further from contention than the Raptors did, but the acquisition of Donovan Mitchell sped up their timeline. In Toronto, the team's core was dismantled over seven months from July 2023 extending into earlier this year, leaving Barnes alone in the spotlight.
"We all know how the first couple of years looked for Scottie," Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said before Wednesday's game. "And we all were able to witness his improvement and development. I think a great year for him is going to be learning what it takes to be a franchise player."
Barnes has ascended to his place within the organization bumpily -- partly his fault, partly the Raptors. A few months removed from his 23rd birthday, he is now the standard for a young, rebuilding team. Per his status, he greeted fans at the team's home opener, bellowing out a hearty, "What's up, Toronto?"
Barnes is the star of the show, but Wednesday was essentially the pilot episode. Alternatively, Mobley has to find comfort on a long-running series with a new showrunner. New head coach Kenny Atkinson was brought to Cleveland largely to make sense of a core that features two ball-dominant guards and two bigs.
A glance at the advanced stats show that Mobley has steadily improved over the years. His player efficiency rating, true shooting percentage and win shares per minute have all risen each season. There is no doubt that if he were the Cavaliers' sole starting big man, he could hold together an excellent defence. He doesn't have to because of Allen.
With that said, his usage percentage has barely moved, taking a little more than his equal fifth of the offence in all three years. With Mitchell and Darius Garland around, it is unlikely that will change unless his jumper comes around. He attempted slightly more than one 3-pointer per game last season and has put 253 up in his first 198 regular season games.
Cleveland has a vision of changing Mobley's role, and Atkinson wants to warp the way his team spaces the floor. Things change incrementally.
"I think that you can't skip steps," Atkinson said of pushing Mobley in new directions. "I think you get this really talented guy -- this guy plays to win, and that's first and foremost, and it starts with his defence. So we can lean on that. And then as I get to learn him better, as the coaches get to learn as his teammates get to learn him better in this kind of new system ... he'll come along. I don't think right out of the box you'll see some radical change here."
It was narratively useful that the two guarded each other when the starters were out there, with Mobley getting his own rebound to score the game's first bucket. He paired with Mitchell to dominate later in the first half, with Mobley getting off a pair of 3s and feasting inside. True to his reputation, he destroyed the game on defence. He finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, the most impactful player on the floor.
The Raptors worked to get Barnes mismatched on smaller players offensively, yielding excellent results. When he had to go at Mobley, things were a lot rougher, a big part of his 3-for-14 night.
Rajaković will also ask Barnes to carry reserve-heavy lineups offensively, which will be difficult, especially when the Raptors are not fully healthy. Aside from the odd inspired possessions, it looked like a tall task. Barnes ended up with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. The Cavaliers threw a zone at the Raptors in those situations, and with the lack of spacing around him, it was tough for Barnes to make sense of things.
"I've got to be ready to exploit those switches more, be aggressive on the ball," Barnes said of playing in the zone.
That is Barnes' job, though -- to make his teammates look good. At least on offence, Mobley can rely on his teammates. The difference is a gulf.
* What a bummer of an opener for the Raptors, who lost Immanuel Quickley to a right pelvic contusion after a rough fall in the second quarter. Garland got underneath Quickley as the Raptors point guard tried to get a rebound, and Quickley landed with a thud. He stayed in the game for a few moments but was in clear distress.
Quickley had 13 points and 4 assists in 14 minutes.
The Raptors don't have the depth to be able to survive injuries to their most important players. Without Quickley, RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk, this team will be in trouble often.
"We got slapped in the face," Chris Boucher said. "It was probably good for us, especially as young as we are."
* Love those purple and black uniforms the Raptors were wearing from the Vince Carter era. There cannot have been many default jerseys in league history with one colour as the base on the front and another on the back.
* Gradey Dick continues to attack closeouts aggressively. He will need to work on his counters at the rim, but the mindset is excellent. I liked the pump fake/relocate combo, too.
* A year after not playing in the opener by Rajaković's choice, Boucher was the first player off the bench Wednesday. That is as much a product of what has been done to the Raptors' roster in the intervening months as anything else, but it is still cool for the longest-serving Raptor. He led them with 18 points.
* The other reserves to play meaningful minutes: Davion Mitchell, Jamal Shead, Bruno Fernando, Jonathan Mogbo and Jamison Battle. With at least three members of the rotation out of the lineup, that will change over time.
Shead had a nifty floater, driving to his left, for his first NBA bucket. Shead also had some nice moments as a defender and playmaker.
* Mogbo made neither of his two 3-point attempts in his two NCAA seasons. He hit his first in the NBA. That ain't nothing.
* Rajaković called a timeout in the second quarter to challenge a play. Unfortunately, no foul was called, so there was nothing to challenge. Whoops. (The play should have been a foul on Mitchell, but the rules are the rules.)