That he's passing on purpose and getting a couple of assists speaks well to his growth mentally as a player. I hold out hope he can be a good rotation player for us.
Like everyone was saying when Robinson has had a few huge games based off hustle, bringing energy like that off the bench can be infectious. They both seem capable of giving you either a huge boost in momentum, or completely sucking the air out the room with boneheaded plays. Barton's a bit like Crawford, let him go wild and do whatever he wants, and you'll be pulling your hair out. But put him in a structure, with players and a coach he has to follow/respect and he can make the occasional big play while not comletely killing you the rest of the time. He's a heat check guy, I'd throw him in for Wes or Nic for maybe a 4min stretch. If he's on keep him out there and give those guys the rest, if not have him sit and play the regular rotations. Highlight to me was Will blocking Plumlee's dunk/layup off the alley-oop with about 2:20 left then driving fullcourt to draw FTs, he was just playing his ass off, barely got up there but got all ball on a very athletic big. Came right after Claver hit the 3, but they didn't credit him with the block.
That was a great play! I forgot about it. What was so impressive to me was how he snagged the rebound after blocking the shot.
We have him on contract for <$1mil next year as well. Great contract. He's our lowest paid player this year ($788k) Crazy that a guy with that kinda salary gave you 20-11-4 in a game. Even if it was against the scrub Nets team.
Will Barton is offense off the bench, and why would anyone want to limit that? There are very few players who can create the way he does, and yes he is raw, but he has all the tools. Scoring, passing, ball handling, rebounding. When given the chance, he has performed. You can't overlook what he does for the players around him, when given the opportunity....They feed off his energy. Look what he did for Claver last night. When given the opportunity....Work on the turnovers, and I'm more than happy with a sixth man putting up these numbers. Apr 17 GS 48:00 7 19 36.8 1 7 4 3 15 Apr 16 LAC 39:55 8 14 57.1 6 5 6 17 Apr 14 Den 34:17 5 8 62.5 9 5 3 17 Apr 12 OKC 38:14 8 19 42.1 7 0 3 18 Apr 10 LAL 29:25 4 12 33.3 1 2 3 9 Apr 7 Dal 32:27 7 11 63.6 13 6 0 22 Apr 5 Hou 20:46 4 9 44.4 6 4 1 9
That was one of my favorite plays as well. Because if we get that out of him on the defensive end, the leash gets a lot longer from the coach.
We have other players that offer instant offense better than Barton. What we're missing is a disruptive wing defender off the bench. Robinson has shown he can bring that energy off the bench in the front court. We don't have it in the backcourt. Mo can bring offense. CJ can bring offense. Wright can bring offense. Who can bring the defense? To put it in Ricardian economic terms, it's not about absolute advantage, rather it's about comparative advantage. That's how Barton can carve out time for himself on the court.
I agree about the need for a wing defender off the bench....or anywhere for that matter. As for instant offense off the bench, when Barton is on, I don't see anyone on the Blazers that can touch him. The two most efficient bench production games in the last two years in the entire league are both from Barton. That doesn't mean he doesn't need to work on consistency among other things but he is so multi-dimensional in a way no other outside of Nic is and he is so much more consistently aggressive and fearless than Nic will ever be. He combines some of Nic's skills with Lillard's brashness and if he can harness that more often, he is a threat anytime he is one the floor.
Hmmm... better at instant offense? I think the best stat on that is the good ole per 36 stat maybe layerd with USG and ORTG PLayer: Pts - USG - ORTG - PER Barton: 16.7 - 21.5 - 110 - 16.4 Williams: 13.9 - 20.4 - 102 - 11.9 McCollum: 16.0 - 21.0 - 98 - 10.0 Will also has a better DRT than the other 2
Those are SIGNIFICANT differences. 17% higher points on just 5% higher usage with a 9% higher ORTG and a MASSIVE 27% higher PER. Granted, I think Will's #'s would decline with more playing time but it's tough to argue he hasn't done more than expected given such a limited role.
I know the garbage end of last season ins't much to look at but look at the numbers will put up in the last 7 games when he actually got PT. 15.2ppg, 7rpg, 3.7apg, 1.4spg Also look at his improved shooting and he is actually taking shots at a greater rate this year. 2012/2103: .382 fg% - .138 3pt% 2013/2014: .441 fg% - .294 3pt%
Yeah I would never want Will to even contemplate that he is our instant offense player off the bench. That's where he will get into trouble. He just needs to continue playing his all around game and good things will happen for him and his teammates. But if he goes in with the mindset that he needs to be thee scorer off the bench, I think you will get the quick shots.
The thing I like about Will is his all round game, he just comes in grabs a board or a steal, makes an assist a dunk a jumper, he just seems to do everything. He's just fun to watch. remember this is a guy who put up 72 in an NBA charity game. I don't care if he is getting dunks on ally oops, that just means he's finding ways to get to the rim, something our other guys don't do.
Well, he was very aware of his instant offense role last night, and he scored, created and rebounded. I would very much like to see that nurtured, and not see the Nate McMillan approach of breaking ones spirit. The guy is a second year player with a total package of skills....Just needs coaching and development.
Was he? Or did he just play his game and the scoring came with it. I know we are splitting hairs here. Maybe you are right, but I still prefer that his mindset does not include instant offense. I agree with everything else you said though.
What was Stott's quote after Will had a big game last season? Something about "he looked pretty in control, for Will..."
Love it. hWill is like a wild relief pitcher, you don't know if he's going to throw a strike or hit you in the head. He's shakes up the game.