{"id":18388,"date":"2022-04-27T12:02:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingsherald.com\/?p=18388"},"modified":"2022-04-27T12:02:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:02:00","slug":"sacramento-kings-season-review-harrison-barnes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingsherald.com\/season-review\/sacramento-kings-season-review-harrison-barnes\/","title":{"rendered":"Season Review: Harrison Barnes"},"content":{"rendered":"
When the Kings acquired Harrison Barnes in 2019, it was with the hope that he could provide a veteran presence at one of the most important positions, Small Forward.\u00a0 Barnes had disappointed in Dallas where he was signed to a big deal to be a #1 scoring option, but in Sacramento he could instead focus on being a supporting piece.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s safe to say that after three full seasons with the Kings, the Barnes deal has worked out in terms of value, as he has been one of the team\u2019s best players.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the wins have not come as a result, and now we are left with some big questions as Barnes is set to enter the final year of his contract with the Kings.<\/span><\/p>\n Barnes got off to a hot start in the 2021-22 season.\u00a0 Through his first 11 games, he was scoring 22.5 points on a very efficient 49.7% from the field and 43.5% from three and he also chipped in 8.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals. Unfortunately, that hot start wasn\u2019t here to stay. After scoring over 20 points in 8 of his first 11 games, he would only do so twice over his next 27 games, where his averages dipped to 13.5 points on 42% from the field and 41.5% from three. Part of that was a seeming lack of aggression. After the first game of the season in which Barnes scored 36 points, including 8-11 from three, Coach Luke Walton said that he had told Barnes <\/span>he wanted him shooting eight threes a night<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 He would only end up doing that seven times all season, with three of those times being in those first 11 games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the areas Barnes improved greatly in last season was in getting to the line. The Kings finished the season 5th in free throw attempt rate (up from 20th the year prior), and Barnes was a big reason why.\u00a0 He shot a career-high 5.4 free throws a game and hit them at an 82.6% rate.\u00a0 One of the most reliable ways for Sacramento to score points this season was to give Barnes the ball and have him drive to the hoop, where he would either bully his way to the basket or get to the line for free throws.\u00a0 Barnes has a crafty array of moves, most notably his euro step, but he can also post up smaller players.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Offense has never really been a worry with Barnes, at least in his Sacramento-era.\u00a0 We haven\u2019t seen the issues he had in Dallas with overusing Isos or settling for mid-range jumpers. In fact, he\u2019s basically eliminated the mid-range shot from his game, as only 4.8% of his total shot attempts last season came between 10 feet and the 3-point line <\/span>according to Basketball-Reference<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 It\u2019s defense that\u2019s been a struggle, for both him and the Kings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n