The New York Knicks have been looking for an elite scorer for quite some time, dating back to the age of Carmelo Anthony. When management signed Marcus Morris and Julius Randle last year, they anticipated a great one-two punch on the offense, but they ended up trading Morris for a first-round selection and retaining Randle, who became a ball-hog as the season progressed.
Now, the Knicks are left with Randle and new head coach Tom Thibodeau trying to piece together a starting five he can be confident with. The problem is, the roster is littered with youth and a lack of chemistry, so Thibodeau has his work cut out for him.
One player who has stepped up this preseason and showed his offensive abilities in the opening loss to the Indiana Pacers is second-year player RJ Barrett. That was one of the lone bright spots in the loss, going 8-for-8 in the first half and finishing 11-of-15 and 3-for-3 from three-point land. He also earned eight rebounds and five assists over 34 minutes.
Barrett only had two shots from the free-throw line, missing one of them, but showed significant progress during the preseason. I believe over a larger sample size, we will see incredible improvements in multiple categories, including from the line. Barrett worked this off-season tirelessly to improve that portion of his game, and it will evidently pay off.
“I just got a lot of reps in,’’ Barrett said on a Zoom call. “It’s definitely something that bothered me from last season. I got a lot of reps. I haven’t done anything yet. I got to continue to be consistent.â€
The New York Knicks need RJ Barrett to take big steps:
The Knicks desperately needed a premium scorer. Barrett has shown a solid shooting ability and strength driving to the rim. He is quickly learning the style of the NBA and the physicality required to be a good player. He put on a bit more weight this past off-season and looks stronger and driving to the paint.
“I always set goals for myself, but I’ll keep that to myself,’’ Barrett said. “I’m feeling good about the season, really good. We got a hard-working group and hard-working coaches. I’m excited to see what this group will do this year.’’
Defensively, Barrett did struggle in the opener, allowing the Pacers to breach 120 points. With a team centered around suffocating defense, it’s not a great sign to see them open in such poor form. I believe as the players gain chemistry and adapt, things will improve, but at the very least, the Knicks can feel confident with RJ’s early points production.