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Harrison Barnes is thriving during his first season with the Dallas Mavericks and has become a bargain in FanDuel NBA tournament play.
The Dallas Mavericks have grown accustomed to placing the ball into their forwards’ hands, clearing out and letting him find a way to knock down shots.
Only Dirk Nowitzki has been sidelined for five of the first eight games of the season for Dallas.
Instead, Harrison Barnes has become the focal point of the Mavericks’ offensive attack, leading the team in minutes, points per game and field goal attempts each night.
Just as surprising as the 22.6 points per game Barnes is producing, a higher scoring average than All-Star small forwards Carmelo Anthony and Paul George, is the way he is collecting his points.
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After playing with Golden State, a team that is leading the league in assists per game for the third consecutive season, creating his own points was not a strength for Barnes.
In 66 games with Golden State last season, Barnes totaled just 53 points off isolation plays and converted just 42.6 percent of his shot attempts.
Through only eight games, Barnes leads the NBA in points scored off isolations with 58 and is converting 59.5 percent of his attempts, the best shooting percentage of anyone to attempt more than 25 shots off an isolation play.
Injuries to point guards Deron Williams and Devin Harris have stripped Dallas of their primary playmakers and dropped Dallas to 18.8 assists per game, forcing Barnes to find his own scoring opportunities.
Only the Suns, Jazz and Raptors are averaging fewer assists than the Mavericks this season, forcing Barnes to improvise frequently.
A year ago, while still with the Warriors, Barnes turned the ball over 9.2 percent of the time he was isolated against his defender, a figure that has dropped to 2.1 percent this year.
The 24-year-old has scored 25 or more points on four occasions this season, a feat he accomplished just three times in 307 career games with the Warriors.
Once free agency began in July, the Warriors made no attempt to re-sign the player they selected with the seventh overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, instead choosing to negotiate with Kevin Durant.
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If Golden State was unable to lure Durant to northern California, then Barnes realizes he was the fallback option for the team.
The Mavericks pursued Barnes and offered a contract with the belief he can become franchise caliber player, signing him to a four-year, $94 million deal, one that came with plenty of criticism.
The eight-game turnaround to solidify the face was just faster than anticipated.
Barnes has nearly doubled his scoring average from last season, elevating from 11.7 points to 22.6 points per game along with 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 made 3-point field goals each game, all figures serve as career-highs.
His ability to play either forward position, as Basketball-Reference calculates his minutes playing 64 percent of the time at power forward and 36 percent at small forward, has helped him stay on the floor 38.1 minutes per game, the second highest average in the league.
The hefty workload along with stellar point production makes Barnes a bargain each night for any FanDuel NBA roster.