Dallas Mavericks: Harrison Barnes vs. other power forwards

The Dallas Mavericks are finally gaining some attention with the starting power forward rankings across the league. Where did Harrison Barnes land among the 30 PF’s?

Another ranking for the starting players at each individual position across the league has been put out by FanSided’s Hoops Habit.  Once again, I have to agree with most of what Gerald Bourguet wrote and his overall ranking of Dallas Mavericks power forward, Harrison Barnes.

Yes, you read that right. As many of us have assumed at this point, it is most likely that we see Dirk Nowitzki come off the bench in the upcoming season to best serve the team’s needs. It won’t look right or feel right, but Dirk off the bench makes sense and it pushed Barnes into the starting power forward role, which suits his style of play in the current NBA.

With Barnes as the official top dog of the Mavs franchise over the past two years, he has gotten a lot of criticism from folks around the league but mostly here in Dallas. A big reason for that is that he isn’t Dirk. Just like when Monta Ellis led the Mavericks in scoring, he received a lot of hate from Mavs fans. No one is like Dirk and the fans are going to have to learn that one way or another.

Now, back to the rankings. If you want to see the overall rankings from Hoops Habit, click here.

Harrison Barnes earned the #11 spot in the starting power forward rankings, with plenty of recognizable names ahead of him, including: Paul Millsap (#8), Blake Griffin (#7), Al Horford (#4), and of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James (#2 & #1).

Although I have an issue with the Dario Saric ranking (#9), Harrison Barnes at #11 sounds really good. I have been a fan of Barnes for the most part through his time as a Dallas Maverick and the focal point of the offense. There is definitely room for improvement, but he has done excellent things in his few years here that are being overlooked by Mavs fans.

I agree with Bourguet that his role in the offense is about to change this year with more people to focus on like Luka Doncic, Dennis Smith Jr. and the constant threat of DeAndre Jordan above the rim. This will take some offensive opportunity away from Barnes which may lower his averages, but I imagine his percentages will definitely go up with more freedom to operate when he does have the ball.

Barnes is not quite a top ten power forward in the league, but he is finally getting some of the respect he deserves as a solid player for a team that is getting better. Keep an eye out for Barnes this year as he looks to continue his improvement as a player and a teammate.