Denver Nuggets: Will Barton Buries His Slump For Good

Denver Nuggets shooting guard Will Barton has been in a slump since the break. He may have busted that slump for good after two stellar games off the bench.

The Denver Nuggets have been the beneficiaries of some timely production from some unexpected sources. Jamal Murray is finally beginning to find his confidence, and he is seeing more time on the court as a result. Mason Plumlee has produced well in multiple roles, while Gary Harris has also made significant contributions of late. Unfortunately, Will Barton was not on this list.

A look into his pre/post ASG splits shows a noticeable drop off in points, total rebounds, True Shooting Percentage, offensive and defensive rating. Barton, primarily a scoring option for the second unit, got some looks with the starters in the first half of the season. But so far Mike Malone has yet to start him in the second half, despite a shorthanded roster.

You can’t blame Malone for the decision. Barton isn’t just struggling, he’s also the kind of player that can really clog the offense when his shot isn’t falling. This Denver Nuggets team is full of players with a contagious affection for spreading the ball around. Assists are the name of the game in Denver, but Barton is better described as a one-on-one type of player.

According to NBA.com’s shot tracking data, only 25 percent of Barton’s field goal attempts come from catch-and-shoot situations. This is reflective of his desire to either drive to the hoop or pull-up and shoot, which he prefers doing after a lengthy series of moves. Twenty-five percent of Barton’s two-point attempts come after 3-6 dribbles. In case you’re wondering, this is not an ideal ratio.

Generally speaking, the more a player dribbles, the less effective he becomes. There is still room for players like Barton in this league though. Plenty of teams desire a second unit scorer that is capable of creating their own offense. As long as the shots are falling, those players get minutes. The shots had not been falling for Barton — not until the Lakers came to town.

Barton was spectacular in Monday’s win over the Lakers. Despite starting the game on the bench, Will racked up 22 points while going 7-for-12 from the field. He added six assists, a block and a steal on his way to a +28 night in the box score. When reporters asked Will what changed, he credited his coach for a pep talk.

This was a nice narrative, but I don’t really believe that’s how this works. Barton is a scorer through and through. He plays the game to see the ball go through the basket, and like a lot of iso players, he can be streaky.

At this critical juncture in the season, Malone and the Nuggets just don’t have enough breathing room to let Barton shoot his way out of a slump. With Jameer Nelson, Jamal Murray and Gary Harris all having their best stretches of the season, Barton hasn’t been able to buy himself enough time to turn things around.

If a player isn’t the type to find easy points within the flow of an offense, they can be particularly susceptible to these types of droughts. After Barton finally saw his shots falling on Monday, Denver hoped he would do the same in Thursday night’s game against the Clippers. He delivered.

Will “The Thrill” poured in a career-high 35 points off the bench in the blowout win. He went 12-of-18 overall from the field, while hitting seven of his 10 three-pointers. It was one of the night’s many encouraging signs for this youthful Nuggets squad.

Nikola Jokic did what Nikola Jokic does, posting his fifth triple-double of the season. Kenneth Faried was also excellent in his return, and showed no signs of incompatibility with Plumlee. Seven Nuggets scored double digit points, but Barton’s performance was the highlight of the night.

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Despite winning four consecutive games, the Nuggets have a long way to go before they clinch a playoff spot. Denver is firing on most cylinders right now, but introducing a productive Barton to the mix would be huge. Malone deserves a lot of credit for the work he’s done, but Barton deserves most of the credit for finding a slump’s only true cure: getting buckets.