The North Carolina rookie has a lot to prove before he gets a consistent place on the Golden State Warriors roster
Harrison Barnes is one of the most prominent prospects coming into the NBA in this year’s draft but his performances for the Golden State Warriors during the summer league have seen both high and lows.
In one game against the Los Angeles Lakers, he showed how much his game had developed after spending an extra season with the North Carolina. Barnes played the game with high aggression and reaped benefits by racking up 23 points
on a 8 of 13 shooting performance. He displayed signs of being able to work cohesively with his team-mates and developed good on-court chemistry with Klay Thompson. However, complacency took over Barnes’s game the following night.
In the next game, he got off to a very slow start and finished off on a 5 of 17 shooting. His experience in the summer league was very similar as he only played 16.8 minutes per game and shot the ball 39.5% from the field.
This does put a huge question mark over Barnes ability to perform against stronger opponents as the competition in the NBA is only bound to get tougher in comparison to the summer league.
With these shaky performances, he has also given the Warriors think tank enough reason to design their rotation with limited minutes for the rookie as they already have Brandon Rush and Richard Jefferson to play the wing. By sticking
with Rush and Jefferson, the Warriors will be putting their trust in players who have proven themselves in the league and have the capabilities to make the most of their chances, instead of putting their expectations on the shoulders of a rookie who is yet
to feature in the NBA.
So what does Barnes need to do to impress the Golden State coaching staff to give him the minutes he deserves? Well, the first thing he will need is stick to what he does best and that is to rely on his athleticism. In his time
with North Carolina, Barnes proved that he can not only shoot from long range but also attack the basket at will, and the same kind of intensity will help him in getting his NBA career to a good start.
Whether he does that or not, remains to be seen. But, that will surely define his path at the start of his career.
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