Barea-How good can he be?

[ZitPopper]

I was just curious what you thought the ceiling was on this kid. Can he be a full time starter in this league or will his size/skill set limit him to the back up positions? How good do you feel Barea will eventually become, and if he inherits a starting position, how soon do you feel it will happen?

[JES12]

If Earl Boykins and Luke Ridnouur can be a starter in this league, yes Barea can definatly be a starter. The problem is, I think all 3 of them are decent backups and great 3rd stringers.

[ZitPopper]

Ok, so we don't ever feel he'll be a high quality starter then, eh? That stinks. I was really rooting for him.

[Blind0188]

Well Tony Parker seems to think highly of him..


Tony Parker on J.J. Barea: 'He looked a little bit like Steve Nash'
2:59 PM Wed, Dec 10, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Tim MacMahon E-mail News tips

barea10.jpgYou could certainly consider Tony Parker an expert on lightning-quick point guards. The Spurs' blur was pretty impressed by J.J. Barea's 21-point, five-assist performance last night.

"It looked like he was franchise out there," Parker said. "He was running every single play. He looked a little bit like Steve Nash, dribbling like 100 times. Sometimes it's tough to guard that because you never know what he's going to do."

Barea hasn't displayed anything close to the court vision that makes Nash so special, but you can see the comparison of their 100-mph styles of play. And, given where Nash was as a 24-year-old, it's really not too ridiculous.

That was Nash's first season in Dallas, during which he got booed mercilessly at Reunion Arena. He averaged 7.9 points and 5.5 assists in 40 games (all starts) that season. Barea is averaging 7.4 ppg and 2.7 apg this season (20.3 ppg and 4.3 apg in three starts).

http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/12/tony-parker-on-jj-barea-he-looked-a-litt.html

[DDansby123]

Some guys are late bloomers, and some bloom for only a very short period of time. We'll see which Barea is.

[Teffer10]

I think Barea is taking teams by surprise right now. When we meet some of these teams a second time, they will be better prepared so he probably won't be as effective.

He does remind me of Nash though and I hope he can continue to perform at this level or higher.
Several of us on this board have mentioned the need for a player who can get his own shot and create for others down the stretch. I was hoping for someone like Wright or Green to fill that role but I'll enjoy this for now because Barea is not only filling a need, he is extremely fun to watch.

[jbsg02]

He has a knack for getting inside and scoring. If we don't end up giving him the chance to be the full time point guard after Kidd leaves I think another team probably will.

[JES12]

Good thing we got him locked up to that 3 year 4.8 mil deal (3rd year team oprtion) that about 3/4 of the posters on this board was b*ching about after the signing.

[jtg41]

Good thing we got him locked up to that 3 year 4.8 mil deal (3rd year team oprtion) that about 3/4 of the posters on this board was b*ching about after the signing.

I'll admit I was in that 3/4' of posters and have been proved wrong for the time being.

[mffl_14]

Good thing we got him locked up to that 3 year 4.8 mil deal (3rd year team oprtion) that about 3/4 of the posters on this board was b*ching about after the signing.

I'll admit I was in that 3/4' of posters and have been proved wrong for the time being.

Same here but like jtg said .... for the time being. I have loved what JJ has done but lets not go to over board my gripe with him has never been what he does offensively it's the liability he is on defense.

[sweet daddy]

He's a career backup, or at best a journeyman level starter. But that's OK, every team can use a good solid backup. Only a third of the players in the NBA get to start, and the rest of them still are NBA quality players that make tons of money in a few short years.

I'd love to be in JJ's position. Don't know about you guys, but if make $4.8 mil in the next 3 years, I'll be through with my working life.

[dirkforpres]

I never liked Barea before 2 weeks ago. If he can keep up the way hes been playing recently, he can become our Nick Van Exel.

[catalyst]

He is a usable spare part. My guess is if this team makes playoffs with a full squad, you may see him for 10-15 minutes, if that much. Undrafted NBA FAs just arent that talented or difference making.

[JES12]

I think Cat is right, but if Barea continues to play the way he has been the last 2 weeks, then I can see our rotation like this:

Bulk of minutes
PG-----------Kidd
SG-----------Terry
SF------------Howard
PF------------Nowitzki
C--------------Dampier

Bench (or lesser minutes if starting)
PG/SG------Barea
SG/SF-------Wright/George/Green (whoever is hottest at the time)
SF/PF-------Williams (if he stops his 9% 3 pt shooting; his rebounds and defense is great)
PF/C---------Bass


Situational: Diop
Out: Singleton, Stackhouse

[SpeedyG]

The thing is that, while Barea probably would top as a borderline starter, good bench guy, there's no denying that he gives the Mavs one thing they've lacked since trading Devin: pure breakneck speed.

I think heading into the season, the two common weakness the team has is low post scoring and dribble penetration. The low post scoring is still a sore spot (except in few cases where Dirk or Bass have it going in the post), but Barea has certainly filled in well in breaking defenses down and creating chaos for the other team.

Now, I'm not saying he'll be anywhere close to Devin, but for now, he plays that role fairly well. So long as Kidd can hold his own at the SF spot (and I think he can, so long as he doesn't give up 4+ inches of height on his guy), I think this lineup can get it done (caveat of course, that JT and Barea continue their level of play).

[poklop12]

Barea would be starter on bad teams but he is a decent back-up on a regular team.

[MavsFan40]

I have to admit I got a good laugh out of some of the comments left here. Take the RCG off.

NVE comparisons lol
starter for other teams lol

[2011Champs]

I see Barea as a good backup guard. I do not believe he would be starting if any of our large swing players did not flat out suck. He is a player who really can step up his game when needed but will not keep this pace up 82 games. He has shown potential in years past by having great stretches of play(thats why he got the contract) and will be a good career backup.

[Teffer10]

Career backup? ...Borderline starting material?...Who cares???

The guy is giving this team a shot in the arm and helping us win games. He is the only player on the team who can break down defenses and get guys open in a half-court set. That is something this team has been lacking for quite some time.
He may not get PT in the POs but if he doesn't this team will struggle again. I still think his best value to the team this season though is trade bait to help acquire a more suitable PO player.
Surely he is making a good enough impression on other teams to at least consider him in a package deal with someone like Stack.
I'd love to see him packaged with Stack and one of our other young guys for someone like Mike Miller.

[Teffer10]

Good thing we got him locked up to that 3 year 4.8 mil deal (3rd year team oprtion) that about 3/4 of the posters on this board was b*ching about after the signing.

I'll boast a little that I could see Barea's potential early on and hope he continues to excel.

However, I was wrong about Terry and have completely changed my tune on him and hope this team does not trade him.
He has truely become an NVE/BJ type of player (even better). He is now what I call an "active player" opposed to a passive one.

Although Barea has become my favorite player to watch (since Dev is now gone), I would rather see us trade him for an upgrade to the SG position. I wouldn't have the same feeling if Terry wouldn't have changed his style.