NY Knicks: The “Win-at-all-costs” mindset of RJ Barrett
By Adam Kester
NY Knicks: RJ Barrett has been a lockdown defender
RJ Barrett struggled defensively in his rookie year. A lot of rookies do. In his second NBA season, Barrett has made some key adjustments to his technique that have flipped his narrative from a defensive liability to a versatile perimeter defender.
Barrett always had the physical tools to project as a good perimeter defender, but he’s now applying those tools with maximum effectiveness. Barrett’s defense, like a lot of his attributes, is not flashy. You won’t see RJ Barrett with many chase-down blocks or anything that makes the highlight reel, but make no mistake, his defense has a prominent impact on the game.
ironically there's gonna be a lot of defense clips here today, mostly because of Frank, but this play is emblematic of RJ Barrett's impact these days. a perfectly timed rotation to contest Bagley at the rim, no foul. the strength to hang tough and disrupt. miss instead of dunk pic.twitter.com/hQbuUccv95
— The Strickland (@TheStrickland) February 26, 2021
It’s rare for RJ Barrett to miss a rotation on defense, and his strength allows him to both overpower guards and hang with big-men as he does in the clip above. It’s beautiful to see someone like Barrett, a highly touted prospect since high school, godson of Steve Nash, a star at Duke, be so team-oriented, humble, and committed to team defense. It embodies the team-first attitude Thibodeau and the coaching staff has instilled.
RJ Barrett doesn’t need to be a jumpy risk-taker on defense. Frankly, he doesn’t have the best recovery speed to do so, and he knows that. Instead, he’s maximizing his strengths: He sinks into the paint, daring ball-handlers to drive and challenge his strength, while he uses his long wingspan to effectively contest jump shots.
Barrett is holding his opponents to a 42.4% field goal percentage, 2.2% lower than their average. He frequently guards the opponent’s best wing players. He’s been deployed as a key cog of Tom Thibodeau’s defense. He’s committed to winning basketball on both defense and offense.