Know your New Orleans Pelicans opponent: Harrison Barnes

Dec 4, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) drives in against New Orleans Pelicans forward

(8) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Strengths: 

The biggest offensive strength Harrison Barnes has right now is his versatility. Barnes is shooting a very nice 40.5 percent from three-point range this season and there really isn’t an area behind the arc where he is bad. In fact, as his shot chart shows he is pretty much league average or better from every spot on the floor.

Where he really is a weapon for  the Warriors though is that right corner. By having Barnes spot-up in that spot the Warriors take away a help defender as losing Barnes in that spot is an absolute killer considering that he finished in the 89.1 percentile in the league in spot-up shooting per Synergy data.

Outside of that spot though Barnes does just enough to make defenses have to run him off of the three-point line which allows him to get shots elsewhere including at the rim where he can use his explosive leaping ability to highlight finishes.

Defensively, Barnes does enough to not be a problem. With his length and athleticism Barnes is at least an average defender which on the Warriors makes him no better than the fourth best defender on the roster. He isn’t ever asked to do a ton and he fits perfectly into the role he is asked to play.

Next: A limited player