NY Knicks: The 4 Best RJ Barrett Games of the Season

NY Knicks: RJ Barrett comes out strong vs. The Pacers  | 12/23

• 26 points
• 8 rebounds
• 5 assists
• 11-15  FG

This is an important game to look back on. In the first game of the 2020-21 season, Barrett started with a bang, making his first eight shots. He cut through the Pacers zone defense, driving to the rim and juking around Domontas Sabonis. His shot selection was phenomenal, as he finished 11-15 from the field and was 3 -3 from beyond the arc. He recorded 5 assists and was the bright spot for the Knicks in their season opening loss.

While putting up a great statline, Barrett was able to learn what was necessary for the Knicks to win this season. Despite the fact that he finished with 26 points, 20 of those points came in the first half. In the post game press conference he said:

"I think they played harder in the second half… I think we had a good first half overall and they came out even more aggressive in the second. I think they did something different defensively with all of our actions. They made really good adjustments at halftime. We’ve got to tighten up the defense for sure. That’s something we’ll go into practice to clean some things up. That’s why we’ve got 71 more to go."

After only one game of the season, Barrett saw two of the most important elements for the Knicks going forward: 1) Their defense 2) Closing games.

They’re now one of the best defensive teams in the league. On the other hand, they still struggle to close out games. Their last four losses (to Miami, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia) have all been winnable games that were hampered by poor play in the second half. Barrett and the Knicks still have some things to clean up – but certainly much less. Now, there are 25 more to go.