Barnes Should be Starting

[EKmane]

This is what I've been saying to people since before it was decided. Now my biggest fear about the Warriors is coming true. Barnes has lost his way. This kid has started been the man his whole life. He is the type of player that needs to be a major part of the game plan. He's a better defender than Klay, more athletic and more explosive. He is a player that can get to the rack at will. He is not a player that can come in for spurts and make an impact.

Klay on the other hand is a player that can come in for spurts and be effective. I honestly think it would be a better role for him. As a fulltime player hes so inconsistent.

Adding a pg and swap pt for Barnes and Klay would take this team to another height. Barnes would be able to play more like he did last season, getting to the rim and all, and Klay would give us a pure scorer off the bench. A pure shooter coming in and lighting it up for a few minutes at a time. He'd still get around the same number of shots and probably the same number of pts too.

Thimk about it.

 

[bigjoerico]

EKmane I completely agree. Klay is one dimensional, but one thing he can due is shoot. He would be a lift off the bench with no real shooter.
Barnes shoots well enough, but he also does so many other things to help the team. He looks like he's trying to do too much on the second unit and there is no flow to the game when there in.
Klay on the other hand doesn't need flow and just chucks it as soon as he gets it which is not a great thing, but should help the bench score a little.
Barnes is definitely the better player who can handle smaller players on D because he's quick, but also handle larger players because he's bigger and stronger.

 

[Hambombs]

What? Klays defense has been better

 

[tzill]

EKmane I completely agree. Klay is one dimensional, but one thing he can due is shoot. He would be a lift off the bench with no real shooter.
Barnes shoots well enough, but he also does so many other things to help the team. He looks like he's trying to do too much on the second unit and there is no flow to the game when there in.
Klay on the other hand doesn't need flow and just chucks it as soon as he gets it which is not a great thing, but should help the bench score a little.
Barnes is definitely the better player who can handle smaller players on D because he's quick, but also handle larger players because he's bigger and stronger.

Ummm...you've seen him defend, right/

 

[msgkings322]

Ummm...you've seen him defend, right/

Klay is a good defender, but would Barnes be much worse?

This is an intriguing idea switching them in the rotation. But then does Klay's confidence get hurt? He's young player too. And it's not like they aren't winning.

 

[CohanHater]

Once we get a point guard for the 2nd team, Barnes will be fine. Klay would struggle even worse than Barnes with the reserves because he needs someone to get him the ball. If Barnes started it would Iguodala would need to be the guy that went back and he should be on the floor more, not less.

Once we get Hinrich or Nelson, you'll see Barnes game take off. No need to mess with the starting 5

 

[tzill]

Klay is a good defender, but would Barnes be much worse?

This is an intriguing idea switching them in the rotation. But then does Klay's confidence get hurt? He's young player too. And it's not like they aren't winning.

An interesting question, my gut says Klay is better at defending 2s, but Barnes might be a bit better with 3s. I wouldn't pull Klay from the rotation.

 

[UgOtBuCkEd21GoRe]

Once we get a point guard for the 2nd team, Barnes will be fine. Klay would struggle even worse than Barnes with the reserves because he needs someone to get him the ball. If Barnes started it would Iguodala would need to be the guy that went back and he should be on the floor more, not less.

Once we get Hinrich or Nelson, you'll see Barnes game take off. No need to mess with the starting 5

Exactly. What is it something like 20-4 with our usual starting five of Bogut, Lee, Iggy, and the splash bros. Best in the league behind OKC. Don't fix it if it isn't broken. Adding a formidable Pg on the second unit would do wonders for Barnes.

 

[bigjoerico]

tzill I was referring to his offense. He is actually a really good defender and Barnes is no slouch either.
I think Barnes would fit in better with the starters and Klay would help the bench as the 6th man, but it doesn't really matter now that we have Crawford and Brooks.

 

[rayhl111]

H. Barnes is officially lost. Even his shot looks wrong. I might think to trade him to Denv for K. Faried or to Celve for Tristan Thompson. HB has a lot of upside but right now he's at a loss.

 

[Yoshi]

An interesting question, my gut says Klay is better at defending 2s, but Barnes might be a bit better with 3s. I wouldn't pull Klay from the rotation.

I would say Klay is a better defender on 1's than he is on 2's. Case in point - the Spurs series and the xmas game against CP3.

Not to say that Klay can't defend 2's, but in the past he shown issues defending more athletic 2's.

As far as Barnes is concerned, it's pretty apparent the combo of reduced PT and the growing pains associated with a sophomore slump are starting to show its ugly face. The same thing happened to Klay last year, and now it's rearing its ugly head with Barnes. He's still learning how to round out his game, but at this point I would not start him over Iggy.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

I agree...HB is being used improperly by mark jackson...

It's glaringly obvious....and it's a damn shame.

 

[Yoshi]

tzill I was referring to his offense. He is actually a really good defender and Barnes is no slouch either.
I think Barnes would fit in better with the starters and Klay would help the bench as the 6th man, but it doesn't really matter now that we have Crawford and Brooks.

HB would fit better because he would have more quality looks alongside Curry, plus Crawford is more a scorer than he is a facilitator. However, with Barnes struggling, coming off the bench is not the worst thing in the world. He still gets caught with that rocker step/traveling issue and as someone had mentioned, his shot looks rather flat.

He'll be fine, and I expect him to be a major contributor once MJ starts to mix and match his starters to bench rotations.

 

[TobyTyler]

Teammates untroubled by Klay Thompson's slump - SFGate

this is exactly where we should see Thompson for the foreseeable future.