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Knicks: Predicting how RJ Barrett’s 2021 season will look

By Zachary Bachar

Mar 8, 2020; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons forward Thon Maker (7) and forward Tony Snell (17)during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 8, 2020; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons forward Thon Maker (7) and forward Tony Snell (17)during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 11, 2020; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) drives against Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

RJ Barrett: Scoring, Rebounding, Playmaking

RJ Barrett will certainly have a larger role this year, as he spent most of his first season as the third option behind Julius Randle and Marcus Morris. With Morris gone and Randle likely being reeled in by Thibodeau, the 20-year old will have every opportunity to take the reins of the offense.

The former Bulls head coach giving increased minutes to young players has been largely exaggerated in recent years, but it’s fair to assume that Barrett will average more than the 30.4 minutes per game that he registered last season. Even if he unusually shows no improvement at all, his numbers should still look better due to more time spent on the court.

Points

Barrett’s go-to move on offense is using his size to bully smaller defenders to the basket, creating contact and finishing at the rim.

His ability to fight through contact will improve as he gets older and he’ll likely get the benefit of the whistle after enduring some “rookie calls” throughout his first season.

If he can raise his free-throw shooting while also taking more attempts, his scoring output should definitely improve by a few extra notches. It wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility to see him average just under 18 points per game.

Rebounds

Barrett is an excellent rebounder for a guard, often snatching down boards so that he can get a head start in transition. He should continue to excel in this facet of the game even though he’ll be sharing the court with adept rebounders such as Randle and Robinson.

He probably won’t come close to the 8-rebound average he was putting up in college, but a slight increase in crashing the glass should happen. He’ll probably come closer to six rebounds each night versus the five boards per game he recorded last year.

Assists 

Playmaking remains an area of untapped potential for the young guard as he displayed flashes of excellent court vision as a rookie.

Tom Thibodeau loves to run his offense through guards that can break down a defense and bigs that can post up smaller players. Barrett has shown that he can do both, and Thibodeau will almost certainly have him initiate some offensive sets.

There might be an increase in turnovers for RJ, but there should also be an even larger increase in assists per game.

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