The fifth-year pro has quickly become the Mavericks’ top offensive option in his first season with the club. He leads the team in scoring at 20.4 points per game and is receiving an unprecedented workload, compared to what he’d been used to earlier in his career.
But with all of responsibility comes expectations, both externally and from within. It means carrying the offensive burden throughout, and recognizing times in games when the team is going through minutes-long cold spells and needs a bucket. A couple of those situations arose in Wednesday’s 95-85 loss to the Detroit Pistons, and after the game Barnes said he needs to do a better job of attacking in those moments.