After the untimely death of one Jose Juan “J.J.” Barea, the more casual members of the NBA fandom may have wondered to themselves “who on the Mavs roster could possibly step in to fill the small-statured, but big-hearted hole that Barea’s departure has left in the team?” However, the more erudite NBA fan will have had no need for such wonderment, as the answer was plainly clear to them: Jalen Brunson!
Okay, so the rookie Brunson might not be able to replace everything that Barea brought to the team, given that Barea was definitely a top three backup point guard at the time of his injury, but he can at least pretend to bring to the table some of the things that Barea brought. Among them:
-Being short
-Looking old (he looks older than Barea, honestly)
-Shooting midrange jumpers
-Shooting threes
-Passing
Among the things that Brunson will never be able to replicate:
-Having a creepy mind-bond with Dwight Powell that manifests itself in the form of at least five lobs per game
-Being Mexican
-Having the grit and toughness that only being knocked out of the air by Andrew Bynum can provide
-Being a top three backup PG in the league