The Mavericks likely envisioned Harrison Barnes becoming a go-to kind of offensive player in the future, but not even the team (or, maybe, even the player himself) could have seen the transition from role-player to leading scorer going so smoothly so early in the season.
Barnes scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in last week’s season opener in Indianapolis, hitting a game-tying 3-pointer with two seconds left to cap off a late Mavs comeback and force overtime. Two nights later, he scored a career-high 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting against Houston, although the Mavs would fall, 106-98.