Golden State Warriors: Expectations For Leandro Barbosa

After sporting one of the worst bench units in the NBA for half of the 2013-14 season, the Golden State Warriors made a point of bolstering their backcourt this summer by adding Shaun Livingston and Brandon Rush via free agency. But with Livingston’s status for the start of training camp uncertain due to his toe injury and Rush trying to come back from a very underwhelming season with the Utah Jazz, the most important guard coming off the bench at the start of the season could be Leandro Barbosa.

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Acquired during the offseason by the Dubs, Barbosa’s most productive days as the “Brazilian Blur” off the bench are probably behind him. Last season in 20 games with the Phoenix Suns, Barbosa averaged 7.5 points in 18.4 minutes per game. But as has been the case since tearing his ACL the season before with the Boston Celtics, Barbosa was unable to stay healthy for very long.

That’s a chief concern for a Warriors team that’s dealt with its fair share of injury problems over the past few years between Andrew Bogut, David Lee and Andre Iguodala. However, Steve Kerr and company should feel a little bit encouraged based on what they saw from Barbosa during the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Though Brazil was hammered by Serbia in the knockout rounds, Barbosa gave his country valuable minutes throughout the tournament. The Blur averaged 11.9 points and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three-point range at FIBA. Though he only averaged 24 minutes per game, that’s probably more run time than he’ll be getting with the Dubs this season.

With that in mind, Barbosa’s efficiency during his time with Team Brazil this summer is a good sign. He provided some nice instant offense for Phoenix last season, but was unable to stay healthy for long. Over the summer, Barbosa looked just fine playing five games in six days and was a consistent source of offense (until the Brazilians were eliminated by Serbia in a game where he scored only five points).

In his best game of the FIBA World Cup, Barbosa scored 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting while finishing with a plus/minus differential of +35. It was in a blowout 63-point victory against Egypt, but you also can’t hold it against a player for performing as well as they should against lesser competition. In other words, he did was he was supposed to do, and if he’s able to do that for the Dubs and provide some further bench depth, that signing will be worth it.

Livingston should be ready for the first regular season game of the year and Rush should be able to stand in the corner and benefit from open three-point looks. But in the event Livingston has a setback or is out longer than expected, Barbosa will be expected to step up off the bench and provide some of that instant offense when Stephen Curry needs a breather. Even with the ever-present injury concerns for this 31-year-old veteran, Leandro Barbosa should be up to that challenge.