NY Knicks: 3 goals Tom Thibodeau should set for RJ Barrett

How Tom Thibodeau can help unlock New York Knicks young star RJ Barrett.

Tom Thibodeau has his work cut out for him as the 31st head coach of the New York Knicks. One of his goals is to unlock the full potential of the team’s young core.

Part 1 of the Thibs Files focused on how Thibodeau (Thibs) could unlock the full potential of Mitchell Robinson. It is no secret that Thibs has his eyes on RJ Barrett as his potential franchise cornerstone. While not discussing the roster at full length, Thibs specifically noted how both Barrett and Robinson have brights futures in his introductory press conference.

Barrett played in 56 games (55 starts) in his shortened rookie campaign. He has the potential to be a solid two-way player in the NBA, but his first season amplified many of his limitations on offense.

Yes, Barrett averaged 14.3 points/game and was one of four players in NBA history that averaged 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1 steal a game as a teenager during his rookie season, per Posting & Toasting.

However, he simply was not efficient scoring his points. He shot 40.2% from the field, 32% from three, and 61.4% from the field; very rough numbers for a rookie. His brute strength as a shooting guard presented a disadvantage as Barrett often tried to muscle his way into scoring two point.

Surely, work in the offseason can help address many of his shooting woes, especially those at the free throw line. An increased focus on confidence, footwork, and shooting form can only be addressed by repetition and practice in the upcoming months. However, Thibs, and Leon Rose, can certainly help aid Barrett into become a well-rounded offensive talent.

Barrett played solid defense as a rookie. Yes, there were occasions of ball-watching on defense, but that comes with the territory of being a rookie in the NBA. Thibs can easily work with RJ to become an above average defender. Thibs’ greatest challenge is unlocking RJ Barrett’s offensive potential. The combination of Thibs’ tacts + RJ’s will should certainly help jumpstart the development.

Here are 3 specific goals that Thibs should set to achieve with RJ:

1) Diversify RJ Barrett’s Shot Profile

Looking at RJ Barrett’s shot profile during his rookie season, there’s a significant room for improvement. Barrett shot 39.2% of his shots within 3 feet, but only at a 56.8% rate, according to NBA.com. Barrett shot 33.8% of his shots between low-to-mid range, but at a sub 30% clip. Barrett shot 27.1% of his shots beyond the three point arc, but only at 32% accuracy.

As a point of disclaimer, the Knicks deployed a very suboptimal lineup during the 2019-20 season. They were not a very good perimeter shooting squad, further amplified by being a bottom-3 finish in all three-point metrics. This meant Barrett driving into the lane and into a pool of defenders, often resulting in very bad misses at or near the rim.

There are certain areas where Barrett can take advantage of his strengths. For example, Barrett was a 37.5% shooter from the left corner 3 position. Of the 3.5 threes/game, Barrett only attempted 20% of those shots from the left corner 3. His favorite shot was the 3 above the break, where he attempted the majority of his shots at only a 30% clip.

In his first radio interview after the initial press conference, Thibs specifically emphasized the corner 3 in the quote below:

"If you’re getting layups and you’re getting to the free-throw line and obviously you’re trying to create as many corner 3-point attempts as you can – that’s how you win"

One good starting point for Barrett is re-allocating some of his three-point attempts to corner threes. By simply taking more from the left corner, Barrett can potentially become a 35% three point shooter, not a bad mark for an NBA player. Consequently, this also spaces the floor a bit better for the rest of his teammates. Barrett shows how valuable the threat of a corner 3 can be earlier this season in a blowout loss against the top seed Milwaukee Bucks.

Barrett also faces a similar problem of trying to force his way into scoring two points in the paint. He attempts to use his strength to either draw fouls or score buckets, often leading to very bad shot attempts, easy rebounds for the opposition, and an easier bucket on the other end. Like most young players, RJ falls in trouble the moment he tries to go 1v1. Of all his field goal attempts, 31.5% came with no dribbles and he got 41.7%. His most optimal situation came with just one dribble, where he shot 44.% from the field. However, Barrett only attempted 11.2% of his shots off just one dribble. He took 15.1% of his shots off 2 dribbles, making only 35.8% of those shots; he shot a paltry 39.3% from the field when he attempted 3-6 dribbles.

The translation to these numbers is the following: RJ’s efficiency plummets the moment he falls into isolation mode. Thibs can help reinforce the importance of making quicker decisions. Additionally, a more sturdy point guard option and better perimeter scoring threats can limit a lot of RJ’s bad shot selection while also freeing up the floor for him to drive into the paint and take higher quality shots. Thibs has experience working with somewhat flawed perimeter shooting wings in Jimmy Butler & Andrew Wiggins. RJ will be an interesting project for sure.

2) Help RJ Barrett include the Euro Step into his repertoire

RJ Barrett struggled mightily with his shooting percentages on the offensive end. As mentioned earlier, he has a propensity to take difficult and highly contested baskets near the rim. This was ever so evident when he shot a paltry 32.6% with a defender within 2 feet of him. While better floor spacing can garner faster results, one suggestion might be re-acclimating himself with the Euro Step.

Barrett used the Euro Step to stymie defenders more frequently in his high school days and at Duke. However, Barrett didn’t incorporate the Euro Step much during the regular season. Ironically, his first bucket as a Knick did come off that move against the Spurs:

The Euro Step allows a player like Barrett to get to the rim more effectively. Barrett can use the hesitation and change in direction to move away from traffic in the paint. This, in turn, can help improve his efficiency around the paint.

Fortunately, Barrett has plenty of players he can study for inspiration. He can immediately reach out to Steve Nash, his godfather, but it may behoove him to watch tape of his fellow lefty Manu Ginobili. Barrett has the body control and footwork to make the Euro Step a patented move in his offensive arsenal. It can only make his a greater threat on the offensive end.

3) Encourage RJ Barrett to become a better distributor

Tom Thibodeau’s greatest achievement as a head coach might just be developing RJ Barrett into a triple threat on offense. Barrett should become the ultimate playmaker by showcasing the ability to score in the paint, score in the perimeter, and distribute the ball to his teammates.

Barrett already showcased an innate ability to find his teammates. Mitchell Robinson often was the recipient of some nice Barrett alley-oop passes. He has the vision to find shooters in the corner for open threes. His 2.6 assists/game only remind fans that he’s yet to scratch the ceiling of becoming a great playmaker.

Barrett’s assist percentage of 12.7% ranks in the bottom percentile amongst starting NBA guards and approaches the level of fringe starters and bench guards. Yes, Barrett shared the floor with Elfrid Payton & Julius Randle, two players that cannibalized the number of assist opportunities available. Yes, Barrett also played with Marcus Morris for a bulk of the season. However, it’s imperative that Thibs maximizes RJ’s vision and ability to find passing lanes.

One simple area of improvement is resisting tunnel vision. Barrett often fell victim to bad habits by driving into the paint and not making the kickout pass. Teams easily game-planned for Barrett, knowing that his main goal was to score rather than pass. Once Barrett learns to find the open shooters, defenders will have to respect his playmaking skills. This will also allow him to drive into the paint more efficiently and draw fouls.

Thibs took advantage of coaching shooting guards that had a modicum of ability to playmaker, whether it was Jimmy Butler or even Zach LaVine. Barrett provides him with another opportunity to nurture a wing playmaker. As silly as it might sound, Thibs should consider setting an assist goal for Barrett. Either average  at least 4-5 assists/game or evaluate the metric based on assist percentage. An ambitious goal of doubling his assist percentage to 25% may help the Knicks win a lot more games than in years past.