Daily Knicks
Fansided

3 reasons why Knicks’ RJ Barrett will be an All-Star in 2022-23

By Mat Mlodzinski

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 2: RJ Barrett of New York Knicks warms up before the NBA match between Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, United States on April 2, 2022. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 2: RJ Barrett of New York Knicks warms up before the NBA match between Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, United States on April 2, 2022. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
New York Knicks, RJ Barrett
RJ Barrett, New York Knicks. (Photo by Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports) /

2. RJ Barrett has continued to improve over time

Three years might be a small sample size, but RJ Barrett has continued to grow year to year.

The most noticeable way is his scoring. As a rookie, Barrett averaged a touch over 14 points per game. In year two Barrett saw a jump in scoring, as he hit 17.6 points per game for his yearly average. Last year, Barrett’s scoring again went up, this time to an even 20 points per contest.

Putting aside how his efficiency should go up, Barrett should also average more attempts per game which would translate to more points per game.

There’s also reason to believe the way he ended last season could turn over quite nicely this year. Over the last 20 games of the 2021-22 season, Barrett averaged 23.5 points per game. If you want to stretch it to the final 22 games of the season, a 46-point outburst would be included.

As the Knicks shifted away from Randle to Barrett, his numbers drastically improved. Heading into next season, there’s no reason why Barrett can’t mirror that and average somewhere between 23 and 25 points per game by the All-Star break.

But there’s more.

Barrett’s rebounds per game made a slight uptick from his first to his second year in the league. Last year it stayed the same at 5.8 boards per game. However, over those final 20 games, Barrett averaged 6.1 rebounds per game.

In the assists department, RJ averaged 3.0 for the season, once again tying his career-high from year two. And in the final 20 games – Barrett dished out 3.8 dimes per contest.

Taking that all into consideration, the way Barrett finished the season should show exactly what he’s capable of in a full season as the top option.

Home/Knicks News