Mavericks: J.J. Barea Looks Ready for Opening Night

A lot of people, including myself, scoffed at the four-year, $16 million contract J.J. Barea signed with the Dallas Mavericks this offseason. I like him, just thought they overpaid a bit.

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And I still do, but if he plays at anywhere close to the level he’s played for the Puerto Rican national team in the FIBA Americas tournament Barea might actually deserve a raise.

The Puerto Ricans, coached by Rick Pitino, haven’t fared all that well in the tournament so far but don’t blame it on Barea. The 31-year old has averaged 21.3 points (2nd in the tournament behind Luis Scola of Argentina and the Toronto Raptors) and 7.8 assists in six games. He’s by far the tournament leader in that category, over two helpers ahead of Argentina’s Facundo Campazzo with 5.7.

And Barea’s most recent outing was his best. He led his team in every major category in Puerto Rico’s 98-92 victory over the Dominican Republic, exploding for 37 points, dishing out nine assists, and grabbing seven boards.

He made 5 of his 8 three-point attempts and all 8 of his free throw attempts.

Check out his highlights:

Call me crazy, but Barea looks to be in the best shape of his career, or at least that I recall: lean, toned, and getting great lift on his jumper. The conditioning that comes from shouldering the load for his national team could end up paying dividends for Barea and the Mavericks.

Deron Williams has been injury prone. Devin Harris has battled his share, Raymond Felton, too. Having Barea around, especially in great shape, is a valuable insurance policy should a starter or key backup go down.

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