Win a Sony PSP! Play Drive to the Finals Now!

By Brad Friedman

Previous Expert Picks

May 30 - If the Suns make it to the NBA Finals, this expert team is in trouble, but then again so are a lot of our competitors. Thanks in large part to a pair of seven game series in the First Round and Conference Semifinals, we went through every productive player on Phoenix, save for one: Leandro "Barbaro" Barbosa.

With the Suns down 2-1 and their chances of advancing to another round of play likely setting, Tuesday's pick for Drive to The Finals will be the 6-3 Brazilian scoring guard.

Today's Expert Pick

Player: Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix Opponent: Dallas Mavericks Regular Season Averages Pts Reb Ast 13.1 2.6 2.8

EXPERT PICK ARTICLES May 29 -- Antoine Walker May 28 -- Tim Thomas May 27 -- Rasheed Wallace May 26 -- Devin Harris May 25 -- Richard Hamilton Previous Expert Picks FANTASY BLOG ARCHIVE May 30 -- No Expert Witness May 26 -- On Second Thought... May 24 -- Hands off the Keys May 23 -- End in Sight May 20 -- The Curse Continues

I'd say the climate is perfect for a solid game out of Barbosa, too. Here's my argument:

A) The Suns are coming off a loss (their second straight) in which they managed just 88 points – 30 points less than they scored in Game 1. You can only keep a good team in check like that so often. Phoenix enters Game 4 with a chip on its shoulder.

B) Suns guard Raja Bell is sidelined. Who's the beneficiary of that? Barbosa of course. With Bell in the lineup in Games 1 and 2, Barbaro managed just 11 points combined. Taking Raja's spot in Game 3, Barbosa totaled 17 points in 41 minutes of action.

C) The Suns are playing at home. Traditionally, clubs and players perform better with a home crowd behind them.

Given that Bell's absence means there are a ton of minutes available for Barbosa tonight, it's almost a certainty that he'll get his points. He really didn't shoot much in Game 3 considering how many minutes he played – 14 field goal attempts total – yet still scored 17 points.

What I'm looking for more of this time around is assists. Rebounds are always icing on the cake when dealing with guards not named Jason Kidd – you love boards when you get them but you can't depend on them.

Assists are a different story. Barbosa put up a donut Sunday in that category. He averaged 2.8 during the regular season.

Hopefully for us experts, he'll get us three or more. I can't see Dallas being able to limit the Suns on the offensive end again like they did in Game 3. That should mean Barbosa will drop more dimes than the previous contest, and my instinct tells me the Suns will ramp up their effort.

I'd be surprised if Barbosa posts a PRA lower than 17, and he has a good chance at hitting the 20s.