We all know that AI is pretty damn fast and Tony was able to keep him check in games 2-5, but Barbosa is a bench player and is much faster than Iverson. Who will guard Barbosa? If he's on the floor when Tony is out, who has the assignment of staying with him? And when Nash and Barbosa are out on the field, then what?
Barbosa is darn fast but so is Parker and by the way, you are kidding yourself if you think Barbosa that much faster than a motivated AI or half as talented.
Lakers made him look even better than he is (and he is pretty good) but the Lakers have no defense, especially no help defense, period.
You just have to make him beat you from outside. He's a very streaky outside shooter so you'll get burned from time to time but he'll also keep jacking it up even when he's off.
You think AI is faster than Barbosa? No way. Barbosa can clear the court in 2 seconds.
I know Tony is pretty damn quick himself, but I'm saying, Tony is a starter and Barbosa is a bench player and there is no way in that Vaughn will stay with him.
Isn't he like a 43% three point shooter?
dont you love fans from opposing teams that have no idea what they are talking about...
if you want to stop barbs, you cut off his angles when hes driving to the hoop. he WILL throw up bad layup type shots. as far as shooting, you cant really shut him down cause he will drive right around you.
Was that directed towards me?
lol no, the guy who said barbs is a streaky shooter.
Ah, I figured as much.
Barbosa is a bit of a streaky shooter.
I still wouldn't give him too many threes, though. The majority of the games he'll make as many as he'll miss. He's not like Richardson who could make 8 one game and just one the next.
As for defending Barbosa, while a bench player, he'll play plenty of minutes, so he'll probably have Parker on him the majority of the time.
Overall, however, I think just alowing the Suns into a half-court team will be the best defense. Fewer possessions, fewer fastbreaks, fewer transition threes...
Barbosa is Devin Harris, with better range. Thankfully, Phoenix doesn't rebound like the Mavericks do, so he'll probably cause less havoc than Harris did last year.
AI might not be as fast down the court but going to the basket he is still damm fast and a lot more agile. Barbosa is not going to be the difference maker. Spurs have Ginobili coming off the bench and my money is on him to help win a series more than Barbosa any day. *Sure Manu had one bad foul last year on Dirk (was a nebulous call granted) but he is also proven clutch here and internationally!
Can he create his own shot now, or is he still just a better Marion-type?
You took the words right out of my mouth. Spurs need to make Barbosa a jumpshooter. He is a very good jumpshooter, but like you said he's streaky. Spurs need to pack the paint and not let him get inside. That will slow him down a bit I think.
Barbosa might be the key to the series. If he's scoring 20+ a game, that could be enough for the Suns to win. If the Spurs can hold him to 10-15 a game, that means that the Spurs have cut out a lot of the Suns' easy baskets.
The bad news for the Spurs is I don't know anyone the team that can guard Barbosa outside of Parker. Vaughn is a good defender but struggles against speed.
He can, but he needs either structure within the halfcourt to do so, or space in transition. You can't just give him the ball and expect him to make play after play. You need actual plays called for him in a slowed tempo. Backcuts, screens, pic-n-slips...
He isn't an isolation player. He definately uses his teammates to create lanes/space.
Barbosa is at his best in transtion and on set shots from outside the three. He'll get some in trnsition but it will be limited by limiting turnovers and taking smart shots. I'll be surprised if Spurs give him many set shots in the half cour though. Make him put it on the floor and distribute or take pull up shots and he'll hurt the Suns. He'll have a couple of good games but nothing close to what he did against the Lakers and their lack of defense and discipline.
Beno to the rescue...
Time for Pop to bring Tony off the bench and start Manu...switch that up so our quickest player can guard Barbosa. I hope Bowen locks Marion down like in 05. He made him his .
I would simply not let him have open 3's.
Perhaps even force him to give up the ball and let a lesser threat (I know not many available) work with it like Steve Blake had to do!
If he goes into the Spurs interior, he will be met with resistance unlike the Lakers.
You have to make Barbosa go to his right. If he goes to the left and there's any crease in the lane, he'll beat help defense every time. *shrug* The only time defenses have stopped him is when they've allowed him to drive right.
Streaky shooter? Barbosa has been shooting with Jeff Hornacek type accuracy the last 3 mos., with a surprisingly fresh mid-range game. He showed he can create his own shot off the dribble last year, although that's counterpoint to the Suns' preferred ball movement. He's also showing great improvement as a distributor off the dribble.
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