If Nuggets need a scapegoat for playoff failures, Will Barton is easy choice

Sorry, Will.

I’m no longer thrilled.

The Denver Nuggets embarrassing playoff meltdown through two games against the Golden State Warriors is the fault of a lot of people. Michael Malone hasn’t coached well. Aaron Gordon has been a no show. Jeff Green has been invisible.

But no one has been more frustrating than Will Barton. Just like he was all season.

Barton’s tantrum directed at Demarcus “Boogie” Cousins was the biggest black eye on one of the worst losses in recent Nuggets memory. Monte Morris got a technical for having bad aim. Nikola Jokic was so fed up with the lack of a whistle against Draymond Green he went ahead and got himself ejected. And Barton’s body language was so bad after Steph Curry drilled a three in his face that he was fighting with a teammate a few minutes later.

The Dubs have the Nuggets frustrated 😲 pic.twitter.com/AjYXr42wJm

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 19, 2022

That’s just one angle. There’s plenty more on Twitter and none of them are real pretty. Barton didn’t help himself much by refusing to really address what happened in his postgame press conference.

“Nothing, just some goofy s*** I can’t even entertain,” Barton said when asked about the altercation. He did add “I got to be better than that,” but only after the reporter followed up after the first outrageous answer.

It screams a lack of accountability, a trait Barton has possessed most of the year. He constantly takes bad shots, has untimely turnovers and continues to chuck the ball at the basket in nights he doesn’t have it. Barton is J.R. Smith without any of the fun.

Barton took a ridiculous career-high 6.1 three point attempts during the regular season and only made 2.2 of them. His 36.5 percent clip from deep was his second worst in his last six years.

And then there’s the effort issue. Barton’s defense has been pretty much non-existent and he can be extremely pouty after missing a shot. Don’t believe me? Check out both things happening in one sequence in a huge game against Utah earlier this year.

This is why Will Barton drives me insane. You’re supposed to best player on the court tonight. What in the world is this body language on offense then horrendous box out effort on defense?? Just not acceptable. #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/nfG3g7k9lW

— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) February 3, 2022

By the way, if the Nuggets had beaten the Jazz that night they would’ve been the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and avoided the gauntlet that is Golden State in the first-round. Instead, their season is two games from being wrapped while the Warriors look poised to go on another title run.

Barton finished that game against the Jazz (without Jokic in the lineup) just 6-16 from the floor for 14 points. He had five turnovers and the Nuggets let a winnable one get away to Utah, falling 108-104.

In Game 2 against the Warriors Barton scored just 12 points on 5-15 shooting and had three turnovers. Nuggets fans constantly say Barton is their “second-best offensive option,” but that might be just because he’s shamelessly willing to keep shooting. If Bones Hyland did anything close to the same, he’d find a spot on the end of the bench. Instead, despite the dustup, Malone let Barton lead the Nuggets in minutes with 31.

The Barton experiment in Denver has run its course. In seven full seasons he’s done nothing memorable in the biggest postseason games and the Nuggets have actually been significantly better without him.

Get this: In Denver’s last seven playoff games with Barton on the court they’re 0-7 and the average margin of defeat has been 16.3 points per game. Translation? They’re not competitive with him out there.

For even more context, Jokic is 14-13 in his playoff career without Barton, including three of his four series wins. “The Joker” is just 7-12 with Barton on the floor, including the aforementioned seven consecutive losses.

The Nuggets made the Western Conference Finals in the bubble with Barton not on the floor or even in the locker room. Last year they dispatched the Blazers in six games without Barton, before his return in the final three against the Suns did nothing to help them avoid a sweep.

With Denver possibly getting swept in back-to-back years, and the likely two-time MVP Jokic potentially about to be 0-8 in his last eight playoff games, the team will need a scapegoat.

It won’t be Malone, who recently had his contract extended. It certainly won’t (and shouldn’t) be Jokic. It won’t be President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly. It won’t be Gordon and his shiny new deal. And it won’t be Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. since they’re both max players and hurt.

Barton only has one year left on his contract after this season and expiring deals are somewhat of a prize to rival GMs in the NBA. Connelly can easily dangle Barton for something as simple as a second-round draft pick in the offseason and get him out of town. He can be an easy excuse for what appeared to be a fractured team in an implosion on TNT on Monday night.

It’s time for the Nuggets move on from Barton. And it’ll be even easier for them to blame him for their problems on his way out the door.
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