Barbosa emerging?

I just watched the Suns-Blazers game tonight and Leandro Barbosa played extremely well. He was drilling jumpers, chasing lose balls, and dishing the ball like Steve. He had 16 points, 4 boards, 3 dimes, 2 steals, and shot 7-10 in 27 minutes. And had a monster dunk off a steal from Ha-Seung Jin (yes he played, in the 2nd quarter. Three Blazers possesions, 2 Ha-Seung Jin turnovers ) while taunting the Blazers.



This is such a stark contrast from the beginning of the season when Barbosa forced Steve Nash to play so many minutes due to his poor play. Today Steve just played 24 minutes and got to rest his hammy. I guess Phoenix didn't need to go after GP.

Barbosa has always been this good. Nash does take minutes from him but the future is bright for the SUns!

I don't think you can say that Nash is taking minutes from him. It's like saying that Shaq is taking minutes away from Michael Doleac.

I feel proud for what he achieved so far in his NBA career. He's our PG of the future. Brazil can have up to 8 players on the NBA next season (Araujo, Nene, Barbosa, Varejão and Alex right now - though Alex is out) and maybe 3 getting drafted next season (Thiago Splitter, Marcelo Huertas and Marquinhos)...

Well... Nash always get injured, every season. His durability is a big concern, and his productivity drops after the 3 or 4 initial months of the season... That's why he always has trouble in the playoffs, too... He never defends. Add to that the fact that all of Phoenix's starters are playing heavy minutes (I guess 34+ for each of them), and I don't see them doin' well in the playoffs.

Barbosa will be something of the future , but i doubt the suns will keep him for many years of the future , im almost certain that he will be out of phoenox in 5 years.

Barbosa, last time I saw him play, he was impressive. The guy is extremely quick!

DoobieKnicks: Why do you say that?

Well... Nash always get injured, every season. His durability is a big concern, and his productivity drops after the 3 or 4 initial months of the season... That's why he always has trouble in the playoffs, too... He never defends. Add to that the fact that all of Phoenix's starters are playing heavy minutes (I guess 34+ for each of them), and I don't see them doin' well in the playoffs.

Amare: 36.3
Marion: 39.5
Johnson: 39.7
Richardson: 37.8
Nash: 34.7

Barbosa: 16.3
Jackson: 24.4
Hunter: 13.5
McCarty: 14.5

I see Hunter and Barbosa's minutes going up quite abit towards the end of the season. Not only is their production going up, but there's a couple streches of easy games against the likes of Charlotte and Atlanta. Right away there's a strech of games vs. Seattle, San Antonio, and Houston. Of the 20 games after that, there is only 4-6 truly difficult games.

The Suns need to start resting theyre main guys a bit more...

The Suns need to start resting theyre main guys a bit more...

good call...

The Hawks need some better players. And the Knicks could stand to cut a few salaries.

Yes, but he's emerging at what he's already shown he's capable of doing, as a scorer, but not emerging as a passer. I like Barbosa, so I'm happy he's playing, but until he becomes a guy that can average 6+ or so assists a game in 35+ MPG, he'll always be backup.

Playing with Steve Nash for the next 4-5 years of his contract will make him a better passer. He had a handful of nice ones in today's game. But his talent was definitley displayed more with scoring, defence, and pure hustle.

Yea, that's what I'm hoping for, he's a good player though, and if he can get the passing, and floor general thing down, and also improve his full court handles, he can be pretty good, because he can shoot, and he also is a good defender, so he has those parts down.

Thanks colin! lol... i was stating the obvious.

barbosa hustles more then probably anybody in the NBA. ive always loved when he gets in the game. hes fun to watch and he has a good atittude towards the game.

It would be nice to see Barbosa get some more playing time so he can develop a bit more as he usually does show he's quite capable of holding down the PG position.

yeah barbosa has the talent to be a decent point guard, but he just needs to develop some consistency.

notice this game was against the BLAZERS. the BLAZERS suck.

Yeah, but that doesn't mean Barbosa sucks too. He's great.

Btw, Colin's signature is the best in the forums at the moment.

is it me or does barbosa and desmond mason have similar (and ugly) shooting styles?

Btw, Colin's signature is the best in the forums at the moment.

Thank you, and you avatar is pretty fucked up looking.

is it me or does barbosa and desmond mason have similar (and ugly) shooting styles?

marion's shoots uglier.

they should rest their starters more

the suns all have athletic type/young talents no need to worry about em in the playoffs except for the aging nash. the suns though has a knack for tossing away good players e.g. kidd,marbury,manning and the likes