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New York Knicks: Can R.J. Barrett become the engine of the offense?

By Ken Tavarez

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 10: RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks in action against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on March 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 10: RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks in action against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on March 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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LANDOVER, MD – CIRCA 1989: Alex English #2 of the Denver Nuggets looks on against the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1989 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. English played for the Nuggets from 1980-90. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

RJ Barrett Comparables

English Lesson

If the following question was asked in Jeopardy, ‘This NBA player scored the most points in the 1980s?’, the answer might surprise you. It’s not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Moses Malone, Dominique Wilkins or Michael Jordan. The correct answer is ‘ Who is Alex English?”

Most NBA fans have probably never heard the name, but Alex English aka The Blade scored over 21,000 points, averaged 25.9 ppg and shot 51% from the field in the 1980s. During that time, he made the Western conference All-Star team eight times.

The reason he isn’t more well known is because his game wasn’t flashy. He was a skinny player that wasn’t fast, couldn’t jump high or shoot 3s. What he was good at was scoring on contested mid-range shots. Despite his athletic limitations, he was the leading scorer on one of the best offenses of the 1980s. Alex English’s Nuggets teams were also competitive, as they were in the playoffs for nine straight seasons in the decade.

The Truth

A more recent example of a leading scorer that was not a great athlete is Paul Pierce. While Pierce was a much better outside shooter than Barrett currently is, he did rely on a lot craftiness to get his points inside the arc. Pierce was quiet deft at finding slivers of open space on the floor to get his shots off. Pierce played 19 seasons in the NBA, averaged 19.7 ppg, had a Win Share value of 150. Most notably, he was a franchise player on a championship team.

Current NBA Player Comparisons

Even in the evolved NBA where athletes are bigger, stronger and more skilled than ever before, there are still some great players in this era that are not uber-athletic.

R.J. is often referred to as a less athletic version of James Harden, who is not considered an athletically gifted player. Then there is Luka Doncic, who is one of the best players in the NBA, but isn’t explosive off the dribble or a great outside shooter. A less glamorous comparison is DeMar DeRozan. He has been the best player on several playoff teams and managed to score the 7th most points in the  decade of the 2010s. What these players have in common is that they can play through contact because of great skill and body control.

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