NY Knicks: 3 reasons NY must avoid temptation and Keep RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett has improved tremendously for the NY Knicks.

Typically, when a player is drafted to an NBA team at 19 years of age, the most a team can ask for is to see growth. From year one to year two, with significantly better coaching, Barrett has improved in pretty much every category imaginable.

In his rookie year, RJ averaged 14.3 points per game, 5 rebounds per game, along with 2.6 assists.

In year two, he has improved to 16.5 points per game, 6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists with half of the season yet to be played. He also improved from 32% to 35% from three which is an impressive jump for a player that has been criticized so much for his lack of a jump shot.

Keep in mind, Barrett has shown improvement even month over month. Even though he’s only shooting 35% from deep on the season, he shot 41% from 3 in the month of February on it’s own.

He also improved from the free-throw line from an abysmal 61.4% last season to 73% this year. While he still needs to improve his free throw shooting even more as an NBA guard, that exponential improvement in one year shows his dedication to getting better.

His ability as a playmaker improved in the sense of facilitating and proving that he is more than just someone who can score.

While he averaged 2.2 turnovers per game last season, he lowered that number to 1.9 this season which shows he has been doing a better job of protecting the ball, being the best guard on the team.

Barrett has only improved throughout the two years he has been in the league and has proven to be a very good player and a long-term piece for the future of this Knicks team.