NY Knicks: Comparing RJ Barrett’s 2nd season to Jimmy Butler’s 3rd

NY Knicks’ RJ Barrett’s 2nd season vs Jimmy Butler’s 3rd season

In RJ we trust!

The kid has just been so impressive as of late.

When he came into the league, one of the knocks on him was his inability to shoot the ball.

After enduring a stretch of games where he missed 21 straight shots from deep earlier this season, he’s become a lights-out marksman from behind the arc.

RJ is currently shooting over 40% from long-range on the season which is a complete 180 when factoring in how he started off the year.

He’s becoming a legitimate threat from deep. From how it looks now, RJ Barrett will always be the better shooter of the two.

You could also make an argument that he’s the best wing defender on the team right now and that might be the most impressive aspect of all.

The similarities between RJ and Jimmy on that side are incredible.

Both have tremendous court awareness and footwork. Both also use their above-average strength at their positions to bully whomever they’re guarding into submission.

This season so far, on top of shooting 40% from deep, RJ is averaging nearly 18 points per game, a steal, 3 assists, and 6 rebounds.

He’s also shooting nearly 45% from the field.

When comparing the numbers in RJ’s second season vs Jimmy’s 3rd, Barrett is without question the better of the two.

It’s difficult to quantify a player’s impact on the defensive side of the ball, but if you watch every Knicks game as I do, the similarities on defense are astounding as well.

Seeing how Barrett’s numbers aren’t too far off from Jimmy’s first year as an All-Star, we as fans should see that there’s something special brewing in The Mecca.