Back-to-back Rookie of the Month honours can’t hurt Barnes’ Rookie of the Year chances!
In what should be a precursor to winning The Big One in a couple of months, Toronto Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes was just named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for March/April.
Scottie Barnes is your Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for March+April
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) April 11, 2022
Barnes played in 22 games over the two months, posting averages of 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.0 steals, while shooting 50% from the field. Pretty good month! That doesn’t even capture Barnes’ defense; he’s spent time guarding James Harden, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic and others since March 1, and in pretty much every case, frustrated the hell out of them.
Barnes is simply and all-around impact player. Much of which I detailed here!
And hey — people are noticing. It’s the second straight Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award for Barnes, who also won the honour in February.
With the regular season now behind us, Barnes has his sights set on bigger things — in the near term, the Raptors’ upcoming playoff series vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, and later in the summer, winning the Rookie of the Year award.
Barnes has a fantastic case, but so does Evan Mobley, and Cade Cunningham will steal some votes too. But hopefully this fantastic finish — two ROTM honours, a 15-7 record in those two months, helping his team secure the 5th seed in the East — help seal the deal for Barnes.