LAS VEGAS – While Saturday’s Summer League action was great for Tony Wroten, Jr., it was more of an up and down day for Warriors forward Harrison Barnes and Kings forward Thomas Robinson.
If we were seeding Summer League teams like the NCAA Tournament, the Golden State Warriors would be a one seed. Led by wings Klay Thompson and Barnes, the Warriors try to shoot you out of the gym on one end and and ball pressure as much as possible on the other end. Friday night, the Warriors killed the Lakers 90-50 (this Lakers squad would be a 16 seed), led by Thompson’s 24 points and Barnes’ 23. Saturday night they played the Nuggets (a solid two seed) and Barnes did not have a repeat of Friday’s first half. The looks were therem they just didn’t drop, which is fine. What really stood out was the trouble Barnes had finishing at the rim. It’s almost like he’s sure if he wants to lay it in or dunk it. One thing is for sure, his combine leaping vertical numbers are no joke.
Barnes’ second half was better than his first as it looked like the Warriors were trying to run the offense through him. He got his jump shot going a little more and he was everywhere on defense (that actually was the case all game). Barnes finished with 13 points (took 17 shots to get there), but also added seven rebounds and four steals. Thomas Robinson’s night went kind of like what we’ll probably see in his first couple of seasons. Robinson finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Like Barnes, Robinson had a hell of a time putting the ball in the hole. He missed ten of his 13 shots, many of those against Greg Somogyl (you don’t need to know about him) who is a long seven foot shot blocker who bothered Robinson on a ton of shots at the rim. To Robinson’s credit he hustled non stop and took 13 free throw attempts. Robinson showed how he can be effective even if he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. So did Barnes for that matter.
