NBA Finals Player Preview: Harrison Barnes
By Kaveh Jam
The Death Lineup is one of Golden State’s biggest weapons. That group doesn’t work without Harrison Barnes.
There’s a reason why Harrison Barnes is a piece of Golden State’s vaunted “Death Lineup.” He’s not a roaming puzzle piece existing to merely allow the spinning wheels of this explosive concoction. Barnes by himself possesses the above-average tools to shoot from distance, penetrate, attack, or kick to shooters in a way that seamlessly meshes in the Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Green lineup.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are facing a dilemma no NBA team has been able to resolve consistently enough to win a playoff series — stop this lineup. A major reason for the prevailing success of the Death Lineup is the massive improvement in Barnes’ individual game since Steve Kerr’s arrival.
Barnes is no longer just another wing with ‘good size’ and ‘high upside.’ Kerr rolled the dice in placing Barnes in the starting rotation last season, correctly believing the increase in Golden State’s philosophy to whip the ball around will stimulate Barnes as a perimeter and attacking threat.
As a result, Barnes appeared invigorated and has since effectively become one of the league’s premier corner three-point makers. Including Barnes, every member of the death lineup shot above 35-percent from three-point range during the regular season (34-percent thus far during the playoffs). This makes defensive matchups nightmarish with Barnes because sagging off anyone to help on switches is a recipe for destruction.
In contrast to last season, when the Warriors faced little adversity during their title run, they have had to weather a much more tenuous experience this time around and Barnes has been incredibly clutch during some of these moments. The wing three-pointer he made in the Portland series allowed that Game 4 to enter overtime (and thus Steph heroics to commence).
Perhaps no play underscores the value of Barnes and what the Cavaliers are facing with him better than one sequence during the fourth quarter of Golden State’s comeback Game 6 win at Oklahoma City. Curry funnels enough defensive attention that Barnes is unattended at his perch in the corner and fields a kick-out pass. Barnes connects from distance, narrowing the gap to four and the ensuing comeback rolls on.
Whether Kerr decides to start Barnes during this series or not will matter little in terms of the matchup issues he will likely pose. He will see his share of LeBron James, Richard Jefferson or even Iman Shumpert. In any of those scenarios, his ability to bend the defense with timely shooting may inevitably cause the Cavaliers to pick their poison and Barnes could be a fatal strike.
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