Barbosa a perfect backup to Nash?

[Goldfield]

I was screwin around on NBA.com, and I saw Barbosa is ranked #1 in the nba in steals per min...

Sounds like he will be perfect subing in for Nash and adding a twist on the defensive end....

 

[Dave64]

The key for Barbosa will be to stay aggressive, yet play more under control. He fouls a lot. He needs to find that fine line in the sand. He is probably too young to see the line right now.

 

[George O'Brien]

There was a piece about Barbosa in Republic:

Barbosa Working to Reduce Fouls

Coro
The Arizona Republic
July 18, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY - In a blurring burst, Suns second-year point guard Leandro Barbosa showed just how much of an igniter he could be off the bench this season for the Suns.

Barbosa ran off a string of 11 points in a 2 1/2-minute stretch at the opening of Phoenix's first summer league loss Saturday. It was a 78-64 setback to Denver in both teams' Rocky Mountain ***** debut.

Combining drives, crossovers, three-pointers and defense, Barbosa had former Arizona star Miles Simon twisting in the gym's breeze.

But then Barbosa's old problem surfaced. Fouls. Lots of them. He had four by halftime and picked up his fifth two minutes into the third quarter.

"He's so good, but he's getting cheap calls," Suns summer coach Marc Iavaroni said. "He's making the type of fouls he can avoid. It's not questionable officiating. It's a pattern he has to break. He has too much talent to have other people control his minutes instead of his coach."

Barbosa's growth late last season was slowed at times by foul trouble. In four summer league games, he is averaging a foul every six minutes.

"It makes me feel sad because I'm trying to play different," Barbosa said. "When I came back again, I didn't play good. This is my fault. I've got to concentrate more."

Roster switch

Another ex-Arizona standout, Michael Wright, had to leave the team to have his doctors examine bunions in his foot. He had a similar problem previously in his other foot.

For more Phoenix Suns coverage, check out www.azcentral.com, Arizona's homepage.
The Suns missed his energy as they ran out of steam Saturday, letting Denver go on a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter.

Barbosa, Casey Jacobsen and Maciej Lampe made 11 of 39 shots.