Harrison Barnes

[KG215]

Knew he'd be a steal, his issues at UNC weren't skill they had to do with how he had to play his non natural game

This. I was always one who thought his game would translate better to the NBA. Roy Williams runs an uptempo system, but it's an inside-out system in the halfcourt. Barnes was operating with very little spacing in college due to having Tyler Zeller and John Henson manning the paint.

Despite some of the knocks he got for underachieving, not living up to the hype, etc., he still showed some flashes of brilliance, and he was far from bad. He was immensely clutch his freshman year, seemingly always hitting a big bucket late in any close game. He had several game-winners and of course a 40 point game his freshman year in the ACC Tournament. The biggest stain on his college career was his inability to properly step-up in the NCAA tournament his sophomore year after they lost Marshall and John Henson was playing with one good arm/hand. I was disappointed in him but didn't lose confidence in my belief that he'd be a good pro, and would look better in the NBA than he did in college.

[IGotACoolStory]

His issue at UNC was the roster fit. Ignoring the bizzaro start to his career where he would go 2-13 in games and then hit game winners. Also after Larry Drew bitched out on his teammates...

You surround a solid, not good, shooter who has a shaky handle, with a PG who didn't even start looking for his own offense until the last month of his career, a SG who couldn't score 10 points even if he wanted to, and two post players who played in the paint with a short college 3pt line... Yeah he's going to have some difficulties on offense.

Inside the key was too crowded, defenses could sag off both guard positions to help on Barnes, and then you expose his weaknesses (playmaking, ball handling).

Not to mention he put on way too much weight in his sophomore year, which slowed him down, and he decided he was going to drive a lot more. Nothing wrong with that, except there was no where to go with Z and Henson's defenders in the paint waiting for Barnes to penetrate. He was also playing injured for the last quarter of the season.

There's another side to this (which is the side I'm partial to), but that's basically why Barnes struggled in college.

[Myth]

So happy Lillard also turned out well, because I'd be pissed if he didn't and Barnes was playing like this.

[SacJB Shady]

He shot 9-26 for the entire game, thats 34.6% from the field.

and it was enough for gsw to win

[RedBlackAttack]

I think Barnes is a good fit in Golden State. Things seemed to work out for both of them. Not sure he'd be best suited with a franchise who was more dependent upon his scoring. He can have more of an all-around role with the Warriors.

It is looking like a good pick and right where he should have gone.

[secund2nun]

He shot 9-26 for the entire game, thats 34.6% from the field.

Bball fans have bball low IQs these days. Going all crazy over a 26/10 game when in reality it was just a 10 game because 9/26 shooting makes his 26 points worthless.

Also he had 4 turnovers and just 1 assist. He will become a good role player- that's all. No star.

[DoodleDa]

He shot 9-26 for the entire game, thats 34.6% from the field.

Except all of those shots were taken within the context of their offense. Yes, he didn't shoot well, but he put tremendous pressure on the Spur's defense by creating and taking good shots. Aside from his FG%, which you're overrating its negative impact, his aggressiveness and tenacity was necessary for the win.

Bball fans have bball low IQs these days. Going all crazy over a 26/10 game when in reality it was just a 10 game because 9/26 shooting makes his 26 points worthless.

Also he had 4 turnovers and just 1 assist. He will become a good role player- that's all. No star.

It's obvious that you're a boxscore reader. No one said he's going to become a star, but he's shown obvious signs that he will be better than a good roleplayer, which he already is right now.

[Funnyfuka]

9/26 ...

[SyRyanYang]

so many box-score watchers here it's pathetic

[RedBlackAttack]

9/26 ...

When did FG% become the end-all, be-all of player impact? Granted, you want efficiency with your scoring in an ideal scenario, but a guy can have a huge positive impact on a game without shooting lights out.

Pretty clear that Barnes heavily influenced the outcome of this game, for anyone who actually watched it. And, I'm a guy that wasn't crazy about him coming out last year and still have questions about his ceiling. Still, he's already a pretty good player and, better, he has improved his game as the lights have grown brighter.

Always a great sign for a young player. I really like Barnes in his current role with GS. It is an ideal fit.

[secund2nun]

Except all of those shots were taken within the context of their offense. Yes, he didn't shoot well, but he put tremendous pressure on the Spur's defense by creating and taking good shots. Aside from his FG%, which you're overrating its negative impact, his aggressiveness and tenacity was necessary for the win.



It's obvious that you're a boxscore reader. No one said he's going to become a star, but he's shown obvious signs that he will be better than a good roleplayer, which he already is right now.

Could he be a better than good role player? Yes because he is 20, but he is being overpraised. Jack and Curry performed the best today for the warriors. The box score matters. It let's you take emotion out, which clouds judgement. You may see Barnes hit some big shots at the end and go gaga for Barnes, but the box score reminds you that his low% high volume shooting was a chief reason they were behind in the first place.

Scoring (or at least high volume low efficiency scoring) has become overrated. His 26 points on 9/26 is not good there are better uses of shots than that.

[raid09]

9/26 ...

Someone had to shoot. Klay was invisible and Steph was injured. The offense ran through Jack and Barnes, which is extremely impressive for a rookie. Not to mention the fact that Barnes played solid defense, rebounded the ball, and hit a handful of clutch shots.

Keep harping on efficiency though - obviously the most important aspect of the game

[tpols]

Someone had to shoot. Klay was invisible and Steph was injured. The offense ran through Jack and Barnes, which is extremely impressive for a rookie. Not to mention the fact that Barnes played solid defense, rebounded the ball, and hit a handful of clutch shots.

Keep harping on efficiency though - obviously the most important aspect of the game

Some people just don't get it man.. Barnes was getting the ball at the end of shot clocks, on the break, etc. Guess it would've been a better if he swung it to bogut for a 20 footer to save his FG and give his team a lower percentage shot.

[DoodleDa]

Could he be a better than good role player? Yes because he is 20, but he is being overpraised. Jack and Curry performed the best today for the warriors. The box score matters. It let's you take emotion out, which clouds judgement. You may see Barnes hit some big shots at the end and go gaga for Barnes, but the box score reminds you that his low% high volume shooting was a chief reason they were behind in the first place.

Scoring (or at least high volume low efficiency scoring) has become overrated. His 26 points on 9/26 is not good there are better uses of shots than that.

I disagree that he's being overpraised. He's certainly improved noticeably since the regular season and he's simply being given props for that, especially since he's a rookie. Anything more than that I will agree is being overpraised, but for now it's really nothing special. Yes, boxscores allows you to see the game numerically, but they don't allow you to see how those shots were taken. Mark Jackson admitted to wanting to force feed Barnes against Parker to get good shots. He got good shots and was aggressive, but he just didn't convert most of them. Can you ask for more? You blame his low FG%, yet who else was going to put pressure on the defense this game? Jack was excellent as always, but he's not a dynamite scorer. Steph has a bum ankle and it obviously hampered him. Klay is a spot up shooter and playmaking isn't one of his strengths.

Again, it's not his scoring output that is being noticed, it's his aggressiveness to attack the defense with good shots. You say that there are better uses for those shots, but you have to realize that in this game, there really weren't any.

[RedBlackAttack]

I disagree that he's being overpraised. He's certainly improved noticeably since the regular season and he's simply being given props for that, especially since he's a rookie. Anything more than that I will agree is being overpraised, but for now it's really nothing special. Yes, boxscores allows you to see the game numerically, but they don't allow you to see how those shots were taken. Mark Jackson admitted to wanting to force feed Barnes against Parker to get good shots. He got good shots and was aggressive, but he just didn't convert most of them. Can you ask for more? You blame his low FG%, yet who else was going to put pressure on the defense this game? Jack was excellent as always, but he's not a dynamite scorer. Steph has a bum ankle and it obviously hampered him. Klay is a spot up shooter and playmaking isn't one of his strengths.

Again, it's not his scoring output that is being noticed, it's his aggressiveness to attack the defense with good shots. You say that there are better uses for those shots, but you have to realize that in this game, there really weren't any.

The only thing I disagree about when it comes to the Barnes praise in the postseason is the notion that this means he should have been selected higher in the draft. It is still way too early to judge something like that and quite a few players who looked very good in the regular season weren't on teams that allowed them to be showcased in front of a wider audience the way Barnes is now... which is generally the case for the Top 5-6 players in the draft.

There's a reason those teams are drafting that high. Meanwhile, it was relatively obvious coming into this season that Golden State was becoming poised for a playoff run.


I think he went exactly where he should have gone and both Barnes and Golden State should be happy about the way it has turned out so far.

Aside from that, he deserves the praise for stepping up his game on the big stage.