# Leandro barbosa future?



## atmacfan (May 28, 2003)

Hey All, I'm new to the forum and and wanted to say what's up and that you all seem like a pretty knowledgeable bunch here. Some other forums online are ridiculous, complete homers with no objective insight. 

In watching Barbosa the last few years I think we all can agree that he has made huge leaps in his progress because of increased PT, personal coaching under Dan Dantoni, and has moved to 6th man and taken on more of a shooting guard role. I believe he's made some pretty good strides spelling Nash at the PG position and wonder whether he can make the fulltime transition in a few years as Nashty winds down. What do you all think? On a side note I like Diaw as a point forward and not as our future PG as some suggest...he's not quick enought to stay with most Point guards and guards the post pretty good. Let me know what you all think??


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## mmmdk (Jul 16, 2002)

Barbosa and Nash are not alike. Nash can pass like Magic and still shoot the lights out. Barbosa is a little out of control but Barbosa should image the play of former Sun KJ and slash'n'burn defenses till they drop plus keep getting better at finding the open man. Barbosa is a very hot/cold scorer but he has potential but does he have All Star potential? I hope so but I'm not so sure.

Any other thoughts?


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## dru_jones (Dec 1, 2006)

I love the way that Barbosa has improved over the years. It's true he'll never be a pure point guard, but he is probably the best combo guard out there. And if he played in the East, there's a good chance he could've been an All-Star. (there was this nonsense talk of Ben Gordon being All-Star worthy and Barbosa's way better than him -- ugly release and all). 

His playmaking has improved but having said that, it does take away from his strengths when he has to create for others. Playing him with Diaw, when Nash is out of the game, is one of D'Antoni's smarter moves.


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## Zei_Zao_LS (Apr 1, 2005)

Barbosa plays best when Nash or Diaw is in so he can be a scorer. He has actually become a fairly effective distributor, but he's totally out of place doing it. He tries to force the ball where it shouldn't go and gets a good bit of turnovers doing it when he's trying to play PG. That said, he's gotten much much better at it, and has definitely made strides to become an even more effective scorer. His defense has tightened up, and he's finally figuring out exactly how effective his speed can be by learning how to slow down and speed up according to how the defense reacts. When he turns the corner on defenders it's almost like he's cheating...

That said, Phoenix should look into getting a young distributor (any position, really. Diaw is a great example of the type of point-forward that Barbosa needs to play with) soon, potentially even in the upcoming draft. A good passing big man or a big point guard who we could pair Barbosa up with. It's clear that Phoenix is trying to keep, bare minimum, Barbosa, Diaw, and Amare for the long haul, and I'm sure they want to keep Shawn as long as they can manage (cap-wise). The team will continue to tick as long as Nash can continue to play at a high level, but beyond that... I'm just glad our management has been so adept. Getting Diaw *and* the Hawks pick is a stroke of genius (and luck, Diaw turning out to be so good has a bit of luck involved), and if we land the #4 pick in the upcoming draft... woo-boy. The present and the future is looking bright in Phoenix, as long as the front office continues to play their cards right.


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## Sedd (Sep 1, 2003)

Barbosa will be a 25-27 PPG guy in the future, but he's a small SG. He is improving his playmaking though. He's a great ball player.


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## Aylwin (Jan 29, 2007)

Zei_Zao_LS said:


> When he turns the corner on defenders it's almost like he's cheating...


I like that. 



Zei_Zao_LS said:


> That said, Phoenix should look into getting a young distributor...


I agree. We need to find a Nash-in-training a.s.a.p. The sooner we can get a solid backup for Nash, I think the more championships we can potentially win. Plus, it ensures someone feeding Amare for many years to come.

As for Leandro, I think it's great that he's improving at distributing the ball. It makes him a more complete and dangerous player. But I think it's better for him to be primarily a scorer. The offensive boost he provides is just what we need.


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## dru_jones (Dec 1, 2006)

i know it will never happen but I can always dream of a Leandro Barbosa/Shaun Livingston backcourt.


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## atmacfan (May 28, 2003)

dru_jones said:


> i know it will never happen but I can always dream of a Leandro Barbosa/Shaun Livingston backcourt.


we dont want that scrub.


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## Zei_Zao_LS (Apr 1, 2005)

atmacfan said:


> we dont want that scrub.


I'll second that.


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## RSP83 (Nov 24, 2002)

Barbosa is one of my favorite player. I like to compare him to Jamal Crawford. Having watched a lot of Crawford while he was with the Bulls, I think both are similar. The way both develop into the player they are today were similar. They both started as a skinny combo guard with a knack for scoring. Both add jump shots to their game. Now both are streaky scorers. But Barbosa is the smarter player. He made better decision with the ball than Crawford. If Barbosa is not with the Suns he's going to put up similar number to Jamal Crawford's.


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## dru_jones (Dec 1, 2006)

I've seen barbosa play a lot lately, and i must say that if he keeps improving as a passer the suns would already have their successor to nash. The thing that separates Nash from Barbosa (and a lot of other point guards) is his superior court awareness and interior passing ability. His skill to get inside the lane and find a teammate in traffic while keeping his dribble alive is just amazing.

That said, I've seen Leandro pull a couple of Steve Nash passes from his dribble penetrations which have resulted in easy buckets for the likes of Amare and Marion.


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## Phoenix32 (Nov 1, 2006)

Barbosa is very important player for Suns. Every season he gets better and his playing is better... Of course he needs more stability, but I think that more time he spend in NBA, more stabile he gonna be... He is so fast, and always makes points after fast break atacks, he is good stealer and 3-pt shooter...


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## mmmdk (Jul 16, 2002)

Sedd said:


> Barbosa will be a 25-27 PPG guy in the future, but he's a small SG. He is improving his playmaking though. He's a great ball player.


Wow, Barbosa is good but 25-27 PPG?


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## mmmdk (Jul 16, 2002)

RSP83 said:


> Barbosa is one of my favorite player. I like to compare him to Jamal Crawford. Having watched a lot of Crawford while he was with the Bulls, I think both are similar. The way both develop into the player they are today were similar. They both started as a skinny combo guard with a knack for scoring. Both add jump shots to their game. Now both are streaky scorers. But Barbosa is the smarter player. He made better decision with the ball than Crawford. If Barbosa is not with the Suns he's going to put up similar number to Jamal Crawford's.


Barbosa is already better than Crawford. Crawford is the definition of a hot/cold scorer, also, Crawford has poor PG skills. Barbosa should be better. Barbosa has a way better FG% than Crawford. No contest; Barbosa would star in NY and Crawford barely does that in NY.


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