Memphis Grizzlies Midseason Grades: Matt Barnes

At the NBA regular season’s midpoint, we are grading each Memphis Grizzlies player based on his performance and progress through the first half of the season. Today we grade forward Matt Barnes.

After finally serving a suspension for his role in an offseason altercation, and after facing and defeating Derek Fisher and the New York Knicks with minimal fanfare, it seems the summer’s turmoil is behind Matt Barnes and he can completely focus on improving the Grizzlies’ playoff odds. Barnes has had an up and down season but has looked like an adept swingman and a pretty solid small-ball stretch-four for the Grizzlies on most occasions.

Since Coach Dave Joerger elected to run Barnes at Zach Randolph’s usual spot in the starting lineup, Barnes has played fairly well overall. With his ability to defend the perimeter, score in transition, and hit three pointers somewhat reliably, Barnes has been one of the most versatile options for the Grizzlies at multiple positions and he plays well in various lineups.

Along with the increase in playing time, Barnes has also elevated his level of play. In 16 games as a starter, Matt Barnes has scored 11.1 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting, up from 7.7 points on 38 percent shooting as a reserve. While shooting more three point attempts as a starter, Barnes’ marksmanship from long-range has improved by about two percent. When starting games for the Grizz, Barnes is also averaging a higher rebound percentage (11.4, up from 10.3), a higher true shooting percentage (56.4, up from 51.4), a higher effective field goal percentage (53.8, up from 47.3), and his overall net rating as a starter is +1.8 in favor of the Grizzlies, compared to the -5.1 he gives the team when coming off the bench.

Granted, many of his upward trends in individual statistics are affected by the variables related to playing more minutes with the more talented players in the first unit, but it’s hard to overlook the success that the entire team has enjoyed when Matt Barnes starts and/or plays significant minutes for Memphis.

Since November 24th, there have been 20 games in which Barnes has played 26 minutes or more. In those 20 games, the Grizzlies are an impressive 16-4. The correlation between wins and Barnes’ increased playing time seems to have grown stronger lately as the Grizzlies have won six of the seven games in January in which Matt Barnes has played 26 minutes or greater. This positive trend could be partly due to a more favorable schedule, but then again the Grizzlies have been without some key players, Mike Conley among others, during that same span.

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This season, Barnes has also demonstrated that one of his most impressive yet underrated skills is an adept proclivity for finding open teammates for pinpoint accurate passes. Matt Barnes has helped the Grizzlies make the proverbial extra pass to find outside shooters and his entry passes to the post have been a huge aid to Marc Gasol and other Memphis bigs. His passing prowess provides the Grizzlies with another interesting barometer for success: in Grizzlies’ wins Barnes has posted an Assist Percentage (percentage of field goals that he assisted) of 11.3 percent and an Assist Ratio (number of assists he averages per 100 possessions) of 16.9 percent contrasted with an assist percentage of 7.5 and an assist ratio of 9.3 in losses.

All that to say, when Barnes starts and/or plays significant minutes, he shoots better, he creates more buckets for his teammates, and the Grizzlies usually win.

Grade so far:

B

Highlight of the season so far:

The befuddling yet brilliant choice to toss up this game winning half-court shot against the Detroit Pistons. Well played, Matt Barnes.

Stay tuned for more Memphis Grizzly player grades. Was the grade for Matt Barnes too generous? Too harsh? Let us know what you think and add your comment to join the discussion!

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