harrison barnes next paul pierce or?

[veilside23]

what is your take on this kid.. barnes one of the guys that is well polish already has the range and body control knows when to take over. kinda like brandon roy when he was in college except barnes i think has a better upper body .

he can be like paul pierce.... i think your take guys?

[JMT]

Love his shot, length, ath;eticism, and that he's played both the 2 and the wing in college. By all accounts has a really good attitude and work ethic.

Not crazy about the way he avoids contact and settles for the outside shot. At his height he should be the biggest matxhup nightmare in college ball, and he's not. IMO he should be the best player in college ball, and he's not.

Pierce brings a level of toughness and tenacity to the court that I've never seen from Barnes. His game reminds me more of Rudy Gay than Pierce.

I've heard people talk about him being surrounded by so much talent at UNC that he'll break out in the pros. I'm not sure I see him having that superstar demeanor.

[Thorpesaurous]

Love his shot, length, ath;eticism, and that he's played both the 2 and the wing in college. By all accounts has a really good attitude and work ethic.

Not crazy about the way he avoids contact and settles for the outside shot. At his height he should be the biggest matxhup nightmare in college ball, and he's not. IMO he should be the best player in college ball, and he's not.

Pierce brings a level of toughness and tenacity to the court that I've never seen from Barnes. His game reminds me more of Rudy Gay than Pierce.

I've heard people talk about him being surrounded by so much talent at UNC that he'll break out in the pros. I'm not sure I see him having that superstar demeanor.


I actually came in here to start a thread saying this same thing. Whatever "it" is, it seems like he doesn't quite have it. There's plenty of things to like. The size and athleticism, but he doesn't seem to play to what he measures if that makes sense. And his stroke is really pure, but we've seen him go through cold spells shooting. And he definitely tends to settle for that jumper a little too much. Also, he doesn't seem to have a ton of playmaking instincts, along the lines of Joe Johnson, which felt like a possible comp as being just below that superstar level, and a guy who is a shooter.

Deng isn't nearly as good physically, and probably a little too creative. Maybe someone like Jason Richardson, a great run and jump athlete who as a PG you'd love to have filling lanes for you, who can also spot up and stroke it, but just isn't good enough with the ball to give and get out of the way like most superstar wings.

I'm sure there'll be plenty of people offended by this perspective, but it's not like I haven't seen a ton of the guy play. Both good and bad stretches. And I get this odd feeling watching him. He's so polished in terms of his fundamental skills it's hard to even envision where his upside goes, because a lot of what I miss from him feels like instinct. He's obviously still got value as a high lottery pick, I just don't think my expectactions would be what most people's would. I feel like I'd take Kidd Gilchrist over him for example, which kind of feels like it's running against the normal opinion.

[Thorpesaurous]

Alright, I just read an article comparing him to Aaron Afflalo and Jared Dudley, so I guess the worm has already turned on him at least in some spots.

[PP34Deuce]

Hes not Paul Pierce..PP at kansas could flat out score many ways, played bigger than 6'6 and defensively showed he could be great.

Barnes to me is like a 6'8 guy that plays 6'4 who can shoot.

[FrankTony]

He is the next Marvin Williams

[Dasher]

Comparing him to Marvin Williams because he is a disappointing much-ballyhooed Tarheel wing is lazy. An old cat I know compared Harrison Barnes to Rudy T and Kiki Vandeweghe. Harrison is a classic Small Forward. He plays the position in a manner that we last really saw with Glenn Robinson.

[Thorpesaurous]

Comparing him to Marvin Williams because he is a disappointing much-ballyhooed Tarheel wing is lazy. An old cat I know compared Harrison Barnes to Rudy T and Kiki Vandeweghe. Harrison is a classic Small Forward. He plays the position in a manner that we last really saw with Glenn Robinson.

Somebody had thrown Danny Granger out there which seems pretty realistic. Has the extra size like Granger. Comparible athletically. Both really good shooters. Both limited with what they can do with the ball.

[JMT]

Comparing him to Marvin Williams because he is a disappointing much-ballyhooed Tarheel wing is lazy. An old cat I know compared Harrison Barnes to Rudy T and Kiki Vandeweghe. Harrison is a classic Small Forward. He plays the position in a manner that we last really saw with Glenn Robinson.

Glenn Robinson had the ability and, at times, the willingness to bang on the baseline to create his shot. The next time Barnes initiates contact on a basketball court will be the first.

He's certainly not Paul Pierce, a guy who has always displayed tremendous competitiveness and toughness, traits that nobody is attributing to Barnes these days.

I can see the Vandeweghe comparison.

[Joshumitsu]

I still see Richard Jefferson.

[skan72]

I still see Richard Jefferson.

Not as athletic as prime RJ.

[Crown&Coke]

I think he will be closer to OJ Mayo, although it seemed everytime I saw him play a full game (not highlights only) he seemed to play less than stellar. Very perimeter game, and doesn't take advantage of his size. People say how athletic he is but he I don't see it being that much of an advantage

[KG215]

Somebody had thrown Danny Granger out there which seems pretty realistic. Has the extra size like Granger. Comparible athletically. Both really good shooters. Both limited with what they can do with the ball.

I hadn't thought of this comparison but it may actually be the best one I've seen so far in terms of Barnes' ceiling. Granger isn't an overly physical 6'8" SF. He's more of a combo SG-SF due to not being overly physical or aggressive like Barnes. Granger is a very good NBA player so having a similar career wouldn't be a failure by any stretch of the imagination.

In terms of athletic ability and playing style I do think Barnes and Pierce have quite a bit in common. Neither are overly athletic but aren't duds athletically either. But, at this point in his young career, I haven't seen anything from Barnes that leads me to believe he's even 1/10th as aggressive or competitive as Paul Pierce.

[Dizzle-2k7]

barnes played with a PG who never fed him the ball (much like kobe had fisher :facepalm ).. he also played with a coach whos just not that great with creative swingmen.

let him have the green light to create at the NBA level and we'll see him perform. hes got every skill in the book and has been NBA ready since 16 yrs young.

[KG215]

barnes played with a PG who never fed him the ball

That right there is enough to tell me you only watched a few UNC games or, if you watched a lot, didn't play very close attention. I don't have the exact numbers but Harrison's numbers with Marshall were better than without Marshall for a reason. And it's not a coincidence that his rise as a freshman coincided with Kendall Marshall being inserted into the starting lineup after Larry Drew quit and transferred.

Did Marshall "feed" Barnes like he fed Zeller and Henson? Of course not. You don't see any PG's really "feeding" a SF/SG like you do really good bigs. But to say Barnes played with a PG who never fed him the ball is beyond stupid.

[Thorpesaurous]

That right there is enough to tell me you only watched a few UNC games or, if you watched a lot, didn't play very close attention. I don't have the exact numbers but Harrison's numbers with Marshall were better than without Marshall for a reason. And it's not a coincidence that his rise as a freshman coincided with Kendall Marshall being inserted into the starting lineup after Larry Drew quit and transferred.

Did Marshall "feed" Barnes like he fed Zeller and Henson? Of course not. You don't see any PG's really "feeding" a SF/SG like you do really good bigs. But to say Barnes played with a PG who never fed him the ball is beyond stupid.


The only argument I could see making sense out of that is that had Barnes NOT played with a ball dominant PG, meaning he was such a good creator/decision maker, that he would have been given more iso situations to prove he could create on his own. Which I don't agree with. He just isn't that good a ball handler or passer. He is what he is. A good athlete with extra size who's nice on the glass for his position, and will fill the wings on the break, and can genuinely stroke it.

I really see granger as a ceiling, but if he's not in the right situation, a basement of someone like Dorrell Wright.

Truth be told, I actually feel like he's a safe pick because even if he doesn't pan out, at least you have a competent catch and shoot guy. But I would expect something closer to Granger.