Harrison Barnes will start at SF…. At least Initially
Steve Kerr has said he may start Barnes at the beginning of the season while Livingston is out. The logic being to use Iguodala as the primary playmaker of the back up unit while Shaun Livingston is out. This was met with some skepticism considering Barnes poor season and Iguodala’s chemistry with Curry and Thompson. As preseason has rolled on, it appears Kerr may favor this going forward as a way to ignite both players offense. Barnes was never comfortable off the bench creating his own shot. In the first unit with a system focused on ball movement and with so many gifted passers, Barnes has looked more like the player we expected to see after his rookie year.
Barnes has shot better early on (48% from the field, 33% from three point range) than he did last season. Iguodala has slowly gained comfort running the second unit, highlighted by his 11 point, 4 assists (in only 23 minutes) performance v. the Clippers Tuesday night. As the regular season begins, it’ll be interesting to see if Kerr sticks with this when Livingston returns. There is no telling but its clear Kerr’s looking to get more offensive production out of both players however he can.
NEXT: Give me some more Curry