Barbosa Question

[arizonaman]

Hey I didn't get a chance to watch any of the summer league games. I know Barbosa had a great summer, but how was his defense compared to last year? Was he still getting beat badly off the dribble?

I think he has the potential to be a great defender with his speed, quickness, and long arms, but last year he just seemed to get blown by off the dribble.

I know the competition is weeker but I was just wondering how he looked in this area for anyone who watched.

 

[binkar]

Hey I didn't get a chance to watch any of the summer league games. I know Barbosa had a great summer, but how was his defense compared to last year? Was he still getting beat badly off the dribble?

I think he has the potential to be a great defender with his speed, quickness, and long arms, but last year he just seemed to get blown by off the dribble.

I know the competition is weeker but I was just wondering how he looked in this area for anyone who watched.

Interesting question. Barbosa did sturggle in one on one defending last year. People will point out that he had a good number of steals, which is great, but most off those steals were from getting in the passing lanes and using his long arms to poke away balls for steals. But when it came to defending someone straight up he really struggled.

Good question arizonaman, I am also interested in how he has developed in this area.

 

[Joe Mama]

Probably the biggest problem Barboza has right now is getting in foul trouble. That continued in the summer league games that I watched. If his defense was any better it wasn't by a lot.

Joe Mama

 

[Yuma]

The games I watched, his fouls were mostly reach ins on the dribble trying to steal the ball. He didn't really get a significant amount from blocking or being out of position defensivly. I think the fouls he was getting are fixable. He did back away from trying to steal everything later in the summer. It looks as if he is improving on the foul front.

 

[scoutmasterdave]

From today's Chad Ford article (ESPN Insider):

Leandro Barbosa, PG, Suns
Stats: 17.8 ppg, 4 apg in the Rocky Mountain *****
Stats: 18.7 ppg, 3.8 apg in the Reebok Vegas Summer Shootout
The skinny: Barbosa's ability to do a little bit of everything in the backcourt drew praise from scouts around the league. They're all claiming that he's improving at a remarkable rate for someone his age and with his relative lack of experience. One scout is predicting big things for Barbosa next season. "I think the three guard rotation of Nash, Joe Johnson and Barbosa could be devastating. Nash has the experience, Joe is just a freak and Barbosa is so long and quick, they can throw just about whatever they want at you. I think in three or four more years, Barbosa could be a star in the league. He's really got a pretty complete package, it's just about him getting more experience at this point."