Los Angeles Clippers: Can Matt Barnes Balance Aggressiveness, Restraint
What happened to Matt Barnes?
Matt Barnes, starting small forward for the Los Angeles Clippers, started the season off horribly. He was missing shots at a historic level, and people everywhere were calling for him to be benched.
At the start of December, Barnes was playing just 25 minutes a night, and shooting only 35 percent from three point range, and a hideous 43 percent overall. Points, rebounds, free throw shooting… you name it and it was bad for Matt Barnes.
Even his technical fouls were down … you usually expect the feisty Barnes to pick up at least one a month, but by mid-November he had none.
Why Barnes started off slow is up for debate, whether it is the normal slow start you expect from a player pushing into his mid-30s, or whether it was the highly publicized divorce Barnes went through early in the season.
Here was Barnes talking to ESPN Los Angeles’ Arash Markazi:
"“It’s tough. When you’re going through a divorce it’s hard,” Barnes told ESPN.com. “We still have to show up and play. We go through the same things the rest of the world goes through, but we still have to perform on the biggest stage, so I can’t let that become an excuse.”"
However, I have a different opinion. It might be related to the divorce, but it was clear early that Barnes just did not have his usual edge that he plays with. It is easy to speculate that with everything going on his personal life, it was hard to summon the passion to play a basketball game.
Here is Barnes in that same Markazi piece about his technical fouls:
"“I’ve really made a conscious effort to cool out.”"
That was part of a longer quote after he received two technical fouls and a subsequent ejection during what was then a breakout game against the Phoenix Suns.
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Since that point, when Barnes could no longer hold in his temper, he has picked up two more technical fouls, for a total of four so far this season, with the majority of the schedule still remaining.
I have described Barnes as feisty, volatile, temperamental, and plenty of other adjectives, but that same bad attitude that gets Barnes in trouble with the referees and the league office is the same one that contributes to his best on-court attributes.
Barnes really cares about beating the other team, beating his opposing small forward, and not taking any crap from anyone. Barnes is an edgy player, always has been, and it has served him well in his career.
I do not think it is any coincidence at all that an uptick in attitude correlated with an huge increase in production.
We have all been through tough times, and often come out the other side better for it. However, a new outlook on life and a more humble demeanor might do wonders for most people, but for a guy like Matt Barnes, it is a career killer.
So far in the month of December, Barnes is shooting 43 percent from behind the arc, and better than 51 percent overall. His rebounds are up. His aggressiveness is way up, and that edgy “you are not getting the best of me” attitude that makes you both love and hate the guy has never been higher.
Barnes is on pace for his best statistical season since he was a member of the “We Believe” Golden State Warriors team in 2006. He is also on pace to finish the year with more than a dozen technical fouls.
I have openly questioned whether a guy like Barnes is the best fit for a team already known for losing its cool once in awhile. A couple of monumental playoff meltdowns might have cost the Clippers a chance at the conference finals during their current run.
However, its clear that in order for Matt Barnes to be effective, he needs to summon that passion and attitude, and while we can all debate his fit on this team, since Barnes’ awakening, Los Angeles has been rolling.
Now 17-7, and sporting a tidy 13-4 record since Barnes’ outburst against Phoenix, the Clippers are hot on the heels of rival Pacific Division foe Golden State.
While the Warriors have been one of the surprise teams this year, a weak early schedule gives Los Angeles reason to be confident that they can repeat as division champions.
Once in the playoffs, it is anybody’s guess how things go. Maybe this is the year that the Clippers finally make the leap, or perhaps a total meltdown in a key game will seal their fate yet again.
The only certainty is that Matt Barnes will be key, one way or another. And while we could speculate that a humble and reflective Barnes might make a better person, it is clear that a fiery and unrepentant Barnes is the only player who can carry this team over the hump.