Golden State Warriors: Are Harrison Barnes’ Struggles A Concern?
The Golden State Warriors are still rolling, but will they need Harrison Barnes to bust out of his shooting slump to repeat as NBA champions?
When Harrison Barnes turned down a four-year, $64 million contract extension a few months ago, opinions were mixed. The Golden State Warriors were NBA champions, but as an upcoming restricted free agent, his value was hard to gauge as a role player for a dynasty in the making.
On the one hand, that seemed like an overly generous offer for the team’s least valuable starter who averaged 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds last season.
On the other, with the NBA’s salary cap skyrocketing to a projected $89 million this summer, it only made sense for Barnes to try and build on a career year and get as much money as possible, whether that offer came from the Dubs again in a few months or from another team that forced the Warriors to match.
A few months later, the situation has changed, but Barnes’ value is just as difficult to determine.
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On the stat sheet, Barnes’ raw numbers are nearly as good as they’ve ever been in his four-year NBA career. He’s averaging a career-high 11.3 points per game, though his rebounds (4.7 per game), field goal percentage (46 percent) and three-point percentage (36.8 percent) are all down from last year.
Still, those are efficient numbers for a player who’s often lost in the Dubs’ high-powered offense, understandably being overlooked with more lethal options like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and even Draymond Green available. It’s not unnatural to wonder what kind of numbers he’d post as a No. 2 or No. 3 option on a less talented team.
However, there’s no question that this season has been a massive disappointment for Barnes on an individual basis, especially in a contract year. Not only was Brandon Rush able to fill in without the Dubs losing any momentum during his 16-game absence due to an ankle injury, but Barnes’ recent struggles in almost every facet of the game have been hard to ignore.
Harrison Barnes is so vacant these days, as if he's locked within himself.
— Monte Poole (@MontePooleNBCS) March 13, 2016
In nine March games, he’s averaging 8.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, but he’s shooting a putrid 37.1 percent from the floor and has made only two of his 21 three-point attempts in that span (9.5 percent). In fact, he hasn’t made a three in seven games now, though the Dubs have won six of those seven.
With Steph Curry on a complete post-All-Star Break tear, it hasn’t mattered. The Warriors keep on rolling, due in no small part to Curry averaging 33.1 points and 6.1 three-pointers in 33.5 minutes per game since All-Star Weekend. But at some point, the Dubs will need Harrison Barnes to show up again, even if it’s something as simple as making all the wide open corner threes he’s been bricking lately.
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For now, Barnes’ mediocre play could be seen as a good thing. If the Kevin Durant dreams don’t come true, the Dubs will be able to remain a cohesive starting unit with plenty of depth by re-signing Barnes to a fair deal, perhaps below his market value because of his struggles in 2015-16.
Perhaps all the Kevin Durant talk has gotten to him. Perhaps the 16-game absence due to that ankle injury messed with his head. Perhaps it’s just a temporary shooting slump that he’ll shrug off once the playoffs begin and the games really matter.
But in a seven-game playoff series with the San Antonio Spurs or even the Oklahoma City Thunder, defenses will hone in on Curry and Thompson. They’ll pay more attention to playmakers like Green and Andrew Bogut. At that point, the Dubs sure would appreciate 2014-15 Harrison Barnes showing up to be the underrated role player who makes teams grind their teeth when they take away Options A, B and C only to be burned by Option D.
In the Warriors’ second round series against the Memphis Grizzlies last year, Barnes was that player. His ability to guard Zach Randolph allowed Bogut to stay in the paint and completely ignore Tony Allen on the perimeter.
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The Dubs might not enjoy such obvious mismatches in the playoffs again this year, but the point still stands: the versatility of Barnes on both ends of the floor is a useful tool that makes the Warriors completely unstoppable when he’s on his game. If he’s able to rediscover it, the Dubs will be the easy bet to win the 2016 NBA Finals.
If not…let’s hope Curry can continue his flame show when Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs bring their league-leading defense into the conversation.