Tristan Thompson shot 6-for-6 in Game 6. Nobody had attempted more shots and made them all in the last 15 years.
And then there’s Harrison Barnes.
Barnes went 0-for-8 in the Warriors’ loss.
Here’s every time someone took at least six shots in a Finals game and missed them all in Basketball-Reference.com‘s database (continuously back to 1982 and various games prior):
Marreese Speights also did it for Golden State this year, but Barnes’ off night – which followed a 2-for-14 performance in Game 5 – was far more damaging.
The Warriors’ offense is based on ball movement and spacing. It gets players like Barnes open looks. When he’s not hitting those, it puts far too much pressure on Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Barnes’ misses obviously hurt, but so did the shots he passed up because he was unconfident. When he hesitated then put the ball on the floor or passed, it disrupted Golden State’s flow.
Steve Kerr complained about the Cavaliers getting away with fouls muddling the Warriors’ timing. Barnes’ slump has also had a significantly dire effect.
The good (?) news for Barnes: He has been through this before. He shot 0-for-8 in Game 3 of last year’s Finals and followed it with a series-high 14 points (on 4-of-9 shooting) in Game 4.
You don’t want players experienced in bouncing back from putrid shooting games, but at this point, Golden State will probably take what it can get.
