The Knicks defense has a key cog on the perimeter named RJ Barrett.
Now 4-1 on the season, New York looks as though they are taking another step in their evolution under Tom Thibodeau. Evolving as a team means that some of their younger players are evolving in their individual games as well.
Knicks News: RJ Barrett becoming a 2-way force
RJ Barrett is 21 years old, let’s start with that.
There are a lot of good perimeter defenders in the NBA today and the vast majority of them didn’t get “noticed” on defense until a few years into their career.
There are some players who can come into the league right away and be effective defenders but those players are few and far between. A lot of the time, it’s just a matter of experience and strength. Not a lot of young players have the strength to match up with NBA veterans, nor do they have the experience to deal with how athletic any given player is.
RJ Barrett is starting to put it all together in his 3rd season.
In the team’s opener, we saw RJ Barrett be effective in guarding Jayson Tatum, one of the NBA’s premier wing scorers.
Against Chicago, he was all over the court guarding different players but spent most of his time on DeMar DeRozan. The usually efficient DeRozan shot just 38.9% from the field.
RJ Barrett was all over DeRozan when he attempted the game-winning shot — a shot he air-balled.
RJ BARRETT ALL-DEFENSE ENERGY 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/YhRUA50wrc
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) October 29, 2021
It’s in the game film and it’s in the stats. RJ Barrett’s length, strength, and technique have been a massive problem for ball-handlers.
Through 5 games, RJ Barrett's 31.3 defensive FG% is the best/lowest among NBA wings who defend at least 12 shots per game.
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) October 29, 2021
(PJ's Tucker's 29.3 DFG% is the best for wings who defend 10+ shots)
We saw flashes of Barrett’s defense in his first two years. He put together some nice defensive performances but they were inconsistent.
Not only were they inconsistent, but Barrett’s defensive responsibilities weren’t always paramount to the team’s success. While he would spend some time on elite perimeter defenders last season, it was Reggie Bullock who Tom Thibodeau leaned on.
Now, Barrett is the guy who Thibs leans on.
He’s learned to play to his strengths. Barrett has the length to recover on defense, meaning that he can sit back a step further when he’s in his guarding position, not letting quicker ball-handlers explode by him.
He is the Knicks defensive stopper. He is the warden.