The New York Knicks played four games this week and were able to pull out victories in two of them. The first game was a home matchup against the Washington Wizards, where they squeaked out a 100-97 win.
The Knicks proceeded to lose their next two games, both at home, against the Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks, respectively. This ended New York’s homestand and sent the team to Charlette, where they were able to put up 120 points in a dominating victory.
This was a week in Knicks basketball that had some exciting moments. We saw RJ Barrett continue to dominate as he had TWO 30-point games, and we saw Evan Fournier break John Starks’ franchise record for most three-pointers made in a season.
In addition, to fan’s delight, Obi Toppin had a career game against the Hornets as a result of Julius Randle’s absence.
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With that being said, who deserves the Daily Knicks Player of the Week? With some great New York moments in recent games, there are plenty of options to choose from.
Daily Knicks Player of the Week: RJ Barrett
No surprise here. Although Randle was truly an All-Star last year, Barrett is cementing himself as the face of the Knicks. His scoring was vital to New York’s success this week, and although he wasn’t always as efficient as we’d like him to be, he’s coming into his own as a star in this league.
The 21-year-old had some efficiency issues against the Wizards in the Knicks’ first game this week. He made only six of his 22 field goal attempts and shot a lowly 25% from 3-point range.
However, one positive about his performance was his free throw shooting, as he hit five of his six attempts. Barrett’s best when he’s attacking the basket, and since he’s so good at finishing at the rim, he needs to be able to hit free throws when he gets fouled.
He also added six rebounds and three assists to his stat sheet, despite this being his “worst” outing of the week. Throughout the rest of the week, his performance would improve.
In the second game this week against the Jazz, he scored 24 points and drained eight of his 20 field goal attempts. He also took eight three-pointers, making four of them for an efficient 50% from beyond the arc. The former Duke Blue Devil continues to impress and his improved 3-point shot was evident in his outing against Utah.
Against the Hawks on Tuesday, Barrett attacked the rim and utilized his ability to finish at the rim. His aggressiveness led him to 17 free throw attempts, and he made 11 of them.
Barrett was only able to hit one of his seven 3-pointers, but he stuck to his strengths to get to the free-throw line to impact the game in other ways. New York’s centerpiece finished with 30 points and an impressive 13 rebounds. Although Trae Young handed the Knicks a narrow loss, Barrett was certainly a bright spot.
After that game, New York traveled to North Carolina to battle against a young and talented Hornets squad. And Barrett showed up.
He was a scoring machine against the Hornets and every aspect of his offensive game was on point. He made 10 of his 19 field goals attempted, including shooting 3-of-7 from the 3-point line.
Although Barrett’s been criticized for his free throw shooting, he finished 7-of-8 from the line. In this outing, Barrett truly showed how much potential he has to be a superstar in the NBA. Knicks fans are excited to continue to watch his growth and he’s showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Daily Knicks Runner-Ups: Evan Fournier & Immanuel Quickley
It was tough to pick between Fournier and Immanuel Quickley when choosing a runner-up. I think it’s relatively clear that Quickley had a better overall week than Fournier, but Fournier’s the one who did something truly special.
New York’s 29-year-old free agent acquisition snapped the long-standing record of 217 three-pointers made in a season, hitting his 218th in the third quarter. That’s quite an accomplishment considering this is his first year playing for the Knicks, along with the fact that the record had been intact for 27 years.
Quickley was a good scoring option for New York this week and he had double-digits in every game. He also contributed in other ways, as he had 18 rebounds and 18 assists in the four games that the Knicks played. He’s always shown the ability to shoot from long range, and he finished 7-of-17 from the 3-point line.
As usual, Fournier had his ups and downs this week. New York fans’ biggest criticism of Fournier is that he isn’t very consistent. His performances are evidence of that and it sums up the way that he played.
However, he was relatively consistent from 3-point range, as he hit 17 of his 40 attempts this week. That’s 42.5%, which is very efficient.
Both players had a solid week for the Knicks and because Fournier set a new franchise record, it was just too difficult to pick just one.
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