Give Barbosa another Chance!

[JPlay]

Why has he fallen so deep in the Suns Doghouse. He was playing great at the beginning of the year and then starting hitting a slump with all of the injuries. The fact is that he can shoot the three, drive and play good defense. He's not a great passer, but he' descent. In the first San Antonio game he was the only one holding Parker in check when Nash was getting killed. He was great in the summer league and great for us at the start of the year. You have to remember this is only his second year. Why play Joe Johnson at point when he is an even worse passer than Barbosa. I don't understand it.

 

[SweetD]

I say keep Barbosa as the next project. I don't think he will contribute this year but in a few years he will be a major part of this team.

 

[fordronken]

Barbosa's on the injured list. He'll get minutes when he comes back off it.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Exactly, he was starting to get time when Nash was out even though he played horrible.

The fact is that he wasn't going to contribute more than Casey, and the Suns have a very tight swingman rotation since they start 3 of them.

I don't expect to see him a lot now either since JJack is on board. He definitely will not take a lot of minutes from him.

 

[zett]

Maybe Dantoni's wife came down with chickenpox? Thats when his play time disappeared.

 

[sunsfn]

I think Barbosa will see minutes as soon as he gets off IR.

He needs some time but has great promise to be an excellent player.
He is going to be a shooter and a defensive player. I am not sure if he will
be a great point guard, but in another year I think he will be very good at that.

 

[George O'Brien]

Leandro is likely to be a situation player. He is one of the quickest guys off the dribble in the NBA but shoots too well to back off on him. Against slower defenders, he could be very useful.

 

[samtheman]

Why play Joe Johnson at point when he is an even worse passer than Barbosa.

Joe Johnson is a much better passer than barbosa.

 

[JPlay]

Joe Johnson is a much better passer than barbosa.

Uh, No

 

[Joe Mama]

Uh, No

Uh, yes. JJ is twice (maybe more) the creator and passer that Barbosa is. I don't even know how you could argue that with a straight face.

Joe

 

[binkar]

This is what I posted on Barbosa in another thread as my feelings on why his develpment has been slowed...



"I think the suns are doing Barbosa a disservice by trying to make him a Nash type PG which he will never be. whether we like it or not, Barbs is a scorer in a PG body. I wish we would just let him come off the bench and play instead of try to make him run the team. JJ can take the point offensively and Barbs can guard the point defensively and LB can just do his thing."

Nash and LB are COMPLETELY different types of players and for the suns to try to make Leandro play like Nash is unfair and hurts him and the team.

 

[binkar]

Also, I remember a qoute that Barbosa said earlier this year about him loving to be on the court at the same time as Nash. I wonder if thats when he feels most comfortable because he doesn't have to be Steve cause Steve is already on the floor.

 

[JPlay]

There are very few point guards in this league like Nash. Most of the other PGs are scorers. Barbosa has good passing skills. Joe Johnson is not an upgrade over Barbosa, he looks to go one on one all the time and take a jump shot. Barbosa on the other hand will drive and kick.

 

[binkar]

There are very few point guards in this league like Nash. Most of the other PGs are scorers. Barbosa has good passing skills. Joe Johnson is not an upgrade over Barbosa, he looks to go one on one all the time and take a jump shot. Barbosa on the other hand will drive and kick.

There are NO point gaurds in the league like Nash. Kidd might be a good passer like Steve is and can run on offense like Steve can, but Steve is also one of the most pure shooters in the game which Kidd is most definitely not.

 

[Errntknght]

So far, Jim Jackson has shown better playmaking skills than either JJ or Barbosa - though his normal mindset may be more oriented toward scoring than playmaking. It could be that currently he's trying to win over the coach and other players with good team play. At this point I like JJax for this team but I'm leery of someone who has been traded so often.

It might be a good move for D'Antoni to make him the backup PG as well as spelling JJ and Q - that makes him a more important member of the team. The other thing it does is make it harder for him to feel like he's shown that he ought to be a starter, say, in Q's place. D'A could transition to that by bringing JJax in when Nash goes out but have JJ be the nominal PG for a while. Of course, it might be a bad move... maybe it's better to keep him from feeling too important to the team, lest his ego get over stimulated.

I'd like to see Barbosa get a consistent spot in the rotation - and not as the backup point guard. Have him focus on defense and racing up and down the floor. Though, still with the green light to score within his normal game. Start him with 5 minutes per game and let him try to earn more minutes with his defense and hustle. The goal can be stated in pretty concrete terms - you want him to able to take Bibby, Parker, Mobley and Ginobilli out or their games while adding to the pace.

 

[sly fly]

Most people here get down on Barbosa because he's not a true PG. But, the fact remains Barbosa must make a name for himself on defense.

And, so far this season, he's regressed on the defensive end. He better realize that his D will lead to more playing time.

Good D leads to stops or steals. Which leads to easy buckets. Which leads to confidence. None of that has transpired this year on a consistent basis.