The band isn't quite back together yet for the injury-riddled Toronto Raptors, but just having Scottie Barnes center stage again raises the ceiling as they visit the 16-1 Cleveland Cavaliers tonight.
Toronto is trending upwards after consecutive wins this week, and my Raptors vs. Cavaliers predictions see the visitors bringing that form to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Barrett has been on a tear lately, leading Toronto past the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday with 31 points on 10-for-14 shooting, on the heels of a 39-point masterpiece to sink the Indiana Pacers earlier in the week.
With Barnes giving the Raptors an extra playmaking dimension, the visitors' steady offense could really take off. Barrett said it best after the Minnesota win, "when you have a guy like that out there, it makes everybody's job easier."
Barrett has gone past this 21.5-point line in each of his last four outings, and he's averaging 23.8 ppg overall this year -- which ranks inside the Top 20 in the NBA.
He's had his struggles at the free-throw line, but Darko Rajakovic has to love the Canadian's aggression. That's translated to 42 attempts at the charity stripe across Toronto's past four games.
There are obvious challenges for Barrett in this matchup, with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley lurking in the paint, but the Cleveland Cavaliers don't have the luxury of multiple shutdown wing defenders. That should free up Barrett to pick his spots and get up a head of steam attacking the rim.
If the Raptors stick with a starting five that has no true point guard, Barrett will be the initiator on plenty of possessions, and I'm wagering on another impressive night for Toronto's No. 9.
Led by Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, the Cavs boast the league's highest-scoring offense, pouring in 123.5 ppg, but this line is surprisingly high given Toronto's steady improvement this year.
While the Raptors are still looking for their first road victory of the season, they've lost some nail-biters along the way, including setbacks against the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Clippers by a combined seven points.
This is a much more cohesive Toronto team than the one that was blown away by Cleveland in the season opener, and I'm laying the points with the visitors, who are 11-5 ATS this year.
I'm rounding out my SGP with the Over on Jarrett Allen's rebounds tally. His battle with Jakob Poeltl could be decisive tonight, and he's had 11 or more boards in four of his past five contests.
Kenny Atkinson seems to be pressing all the right buttons with the Allen-Mobley pairing. While Allen's minutes have been all over the map this year, this feels like a game where the Cavs will need 30+ minutes from him.