Fred VanVleet sees greatness in Scottie Barnes and he also sees those exasperating rookie moments all first year players go through.
They often occur in the same game and VanVleet, the sage of the Raptors, stays as positive as he can, supporting and encouraging and teaching.
Always teaching.
“I’m definitely on his butt about being great, and he's been steadily improving all year,” VanVleet said Friday night, after the Raptors beat the New York Knicks. “So I think that he's going to be huge for us.”
Barnes is having a tremendous rookie season and showing a feel for the game that belies his inexperience.