NY Knicks: Two Superstar Comparisons for RJ Barrett

NY Knicks’ RJ Barrett Defensive Comparison – Jimmy Butler

Why this player?

There’s the obvious Tom Thibodeau connection. So yes, that’s the first place I started. That undoubtedly was what got the ball rolling.

But the fact that they played for the same coach early in their career is like saying Willie Nelson should cover The Beatles because they both play guitar. There needs to be something more there before making that comparison.

For starters, there is their build. Both players are  6’7″ wings according to Cleaning the Glass. Butler has a bit more weight to him, but RJ Barrett has a longer wingspan.

The second reason that Butler is a good model for Barrett on the defensive end is that there are a ton of similarities between some of RJ Barrett’s advanced stats this year and Butler’s second year in the league from Basketball-Reference.

One might be slightly better here while the other might be slightly there, but they’d be tied in a game of horseshoes. And that tie is exactly why RJ Barrett should model his defensive game after Jimmy Butler.

Oh, and I guess having the same coach during those formative years can’t hurt either.

What Does RJ Need To Cover?

Looking at each player’s defensive stats from this year you’d say, “RJ Barrett needs to improve in everything but rebounding to catch Jimmy Butler,” but we all know that is an unfair comparison at this point because of how much more time Butler has been playing professionally.

You could easily point to this stat line or that stat line and argue that steal percentage or block percentage is where RJ Barrett could steal some tricks from Butler. While that’s not wrong, there is a bigger thing here.

As Devine pointed out in the same article, RJ Barrett does most of his best work right now off-ball on the defensive end. The next step for him is to become an on-ball stopper as Butler has developed into.

Barrett has shown flashes of being able to do this, but an offseason of studying Butler’s game on that end of the floor would work wonders.

Like Hunter S. Thompson to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Barrett should just do what Butler does until his own style develops.