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North Carolina Tar Heels: Two to the Finals

By John Woodcock

May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) tries to chase down the ball before being called for a back court violation against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the third quarter in game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) tries to chase down the ball before being called for a back court violation against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the third quarter in game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Two North Carolina Tar Heels will aid the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavs of the Eastern Conference.

The North Carolina Tar Heels have put players back in the NBA Finals. In fact they are the exact same players were represented the Heels in the Finals last year.

For the second straight year The Golden State Warriors will be bringing Harrison Barnes and James Michael McAdoo to a Stephen Curry-led party. They will face off against the Cleveland Cavs and their two Duke players.

There will be a big difference between the role that McAdoo and Barnes will play in this series. McAdoo has seen limited action this season. He appeared in half of the games in the regular season for the Warriors with an average just under three points in seven minutes per game.

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That role has been further limited in the postseason. He played in only five games during the playoff run. He averaged fractions of points per game. Obviously this is the result of a tightened rotation. That is not likely to change in the Finals so McAdoo will not likely have much impact here.

The opposite is true of Barnes. Barnes has been a starter all year for the Warriors. He has manned the small forward position and also slid down into the power forward slot in smaller lineups. In a contract year he has contributed eleven points a game in about thirty minutes of action. He also has shot about 40% from beyond the arc.

During the playoffs, Barnes has fallen out of favor in the starting lineup. The Warriors used wing Andre Iguodala against Kevin Durant. Ace defender Iguodala would also be the likely choice to face LeBron James. Barnes’ opportunities will have to come off the bench. There will be opportunities too since the Cavs defense can’t prioritize Barnes over Curry or Klay Thompson.

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This series will be a test of depth and it will be the role players that decide it. James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green may well all cancel each other out. If that indeed does happen then the question will become whether Barnes and Iguodala can outperform J.R. Smith or other options that the Cavs could have.

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