Mavericks’ Barnes stands tall, plays big in loss to Warriors
Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle doesn’t toss around praise loosely.
So when he described forward Harrison Barnes as an elite player after Wednesday’s 125-122 loss to the Golden State Warriors, it stood out.
Carlisle is talking with confidence about Barnes stepping into that role.
Barnes scored 18 points in the loss, which snapped a four-game winning streak for the Mavericks.
Barnes was 7-of-13 from the field, 2-for-2 at the free throw line and had five rebounds in 33 minutes. He also had two big field goals in the final 39 seconds.
Is it too much, too soon on the coronation of Barnes, who averages 18 points and 5.6 rebounds this season?
Carlisle doesn’t think so.
“At his best, he comes at you with strength, discipline and a measure of skill with a concise plan,” he said. “Most NBA players try to do too much, but for me, it’s an ultimate compliment to him, that the beauty of his game is the simplicity of it.
“The consistency, the work ethic, you set your clock and he’s walking out an hour or two before practice every day to get his work in and more times than not, greatness is defined by that simplicity and doing something simple with a high level of excellence.”
Barnes scored 24 on New Year’s Eve in the win over Oklahoma City and has averaged 19.9 points in his past eight games.
The Mavericks are 11-11 since their 2-15 start to the season.
But as the wins have piled up, so has the confidence.
20,000 club
Golden State’s Kevin Durant once scored 52 points against the Mavericks at American Airlines Center. He needed 50 on Wednesday night to reach 20,000 career points.
He got halfway there, with 25, and now heads to Houston on Thursday and Los Angeles on Saturday where he’ll likely reach that plateau and become the second-youngest player to do so, at 29 years, 97 days.
LeBron James reached 20,000 career points at 28 years, 17 days on Jan. 16, 2013, besting the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, who did so at 29 years, 122 days.
But unlike James and Bryant, Durant spent one season in college at Texas, where he was the national player of the year, before making the jump to the NBA.
Noel’s future in doubt
The saga of Nerlens Noel continues to unfold as his surgically repaired thumb was taken from a hard cast and put in a soft cast for the next two weeks.
Despite the prospect of his return, Noel’s impact might be minimal.
Noel has not played since Nov. 22 and Carlisle has indicated that he needs improvement from the young center.
He scored 16 points in a dramatic loss to Atlanta in the season opener before seeing his minutes begin to dwindle rapidly.
Noel was traded to the Mavericks from Philadelphia last February and showed signs of promise.
But over the summer, Noel changed agents and rumors swirled that he turned down a long-term deal from Dallas worth $17.5 million per year.
He’s making $4.1 million on a one-year deal this season and now likely doesn’t figure in to Dallas’ long-term plans with the emergence of forwards Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell into regular roles.
The takeover
Point guard Dennis Smith Jr. has impressed during his rookie season as Carlisle has encouraged him to take advantage of his aggressiveness.
Smith scored 11 points in the final two minutes of the win Sunday in Oklahoma City, effectively turning the game around in the stretch run.
“Aggressiveness comes natural to him and a byproduct of that is how he connects with his teammates, and then his play-making ability,” Carlisle said. “In some of these games, he’s starting to see double-teams on the pick and roll and that’s not something he’s been used to, whether in college or the first part of the season.
“Getting double-teamed 35 feet from the basket is just something where he’s got to make the simple play and we have to set it up for him to make that hockey assist to somebody. Once he makes his pass, he’s having to quickly relocate, catch another one and do it all over again.”
Smith had 14 points against the Warriors.
Home again
The Mavericks’ four-game home stand continues Friday with the Chicago Bulls (13-25) coming to town.
Tip-off is 7:30 p.m.
Nikola Mirotic leads the Bulls in scoring, averaging 18.3 points in just 14 games this season, while rookie Lauri Markkanen is averaging 14.7 points.
The Bulls are coming off a 124-115 loss to Toronto.
The New York Knicks are in town Sunday followed by the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.
Name change
The new Mandarin translation of the Mavericks nickname, chosen by a fan vote in China, was announced at halftime of Wednesday’s game.
Mavericks, in Mandarin, roughly translates to Little Cows and officials worked with a Chinese company to narrow down three finalists to change the name.
The new English translation is Lone Ranger Heroes.
Mavericks vs. Bulls
7:30 p.m. Friday, FSSW
This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 9:52 AM with the headline "Mavericks’ Barnes stands tall, plays big in loss to Warriors."