RJ Barrett has quickly turned into must-watch basketball, becoming the number one option for the New York Knicks in just three seasons. The pressure for Barrett to perform in 2022-23 will be even higher, but there’s reason to believe that he’ll be able to overcome those challenges.
Heading into his fourth season, it’s time for Barrett to really turn on the jets. The Knicks drafted him in 2019 with the expectation that one day he’d turn into an All-Star and that day seems to be coming very soon.
Knicks’ RJ Barrett is on track to get his first All-Star Game selection in 2022-23
Although All-Star appearances don’t win you NBA championships, it would be a big deal for Barrett to be named one. The Knicks haven’t exactly aced the art of drafting All-Star worthy players over the years. Some of their best players in recent seasons have been from free agent pickups and trades — not from the NBA Draft.
With Barrett, it’s different. New York didn’t land the lottery jackpot in 2019 and had to pick third after the two obvious selections in Zion Williamson and Ja Morant. But Barrett has been great in his own right and given his ability to stay healthy, his durability certainly puts him ahead of Williamson.
But heading into next season, the next step up for Barrett would be making his first All-Star team.
3. Knowing he’s the first option will mean easier buckets
People don’t give RJ Barrett enough credit for what he had to endure in 2021-22. Fresh off a playoff berth in 2021, Julius Randle was THE MAN heading into the new season and Barrett was supposed to be the second fiddle.
But Randle had a horrendous season.
On the court, Randle saw his numbers drop in points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, steals per game, and field goal and three-point percentage.
In Madison Square Garden, he became public enemy number one, memorably for mouthing off to Knicks fans after a tough bucket. And off the court, his image suffered because of it, at least in how fans perceived him.
Of course, I’m not here to judge a man’s characteristics or anything of that nature, but it’s clear that Randle’s bad play correlated to how Knicks fans viewed his attitude.
Through all of this, Barrett started to become more and more involved in the offense. However, that’s a tough spot to be in, knowing how much more it increasingly seems that you’re about to take over as the go-to scorer, but not in a seamless transition.
Heading into next season, it seems like a fair bet that Barrett is going to be the number one option. That should take an anxious load off his shoulders, which should in turn help his confidence. And confidence means better efficiency, which in turn means more points.
It’s a domino effect and it seems like a sure thing that Barrett will be in for a much better year from the field.
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.
1. Jalen Brunson’s point guard play should help RJ Barrett’s game
Basketball is a team sport. So, when you bring in a marquee free agent, you do so expecting he’ll help the team win games and make a positive impact on the rest of the players.
When that guy happens to be a point guard, it should mean a more fluid offense and easier buckets for everyone involved.
Brunson was brought to the Knicks for all of those reasons and more, and it should have a direct impact on RJ Barrett.
Sure, they might need some time to get used to each other, but the thought of pairing Barrett with a point guard like Brunson leads me to believe it could help springboard Barrett into a more complete player.
For one, it takes the ball out of Barrett’s hands and allows him to free up without the ball, where he can excel as a slasher.
Brunson also provides scoring, which in turn draws defenses to him more than other point guards who lack an offensive game. That means kickouts for three-pointers – a part of Barrett’s game that still needs more consistency. That’s a great way to start getting him more open buckets and confidence to knock down those shots.
If RJ Barrett can play well alongside Brunson, it should make him a better basketball player in the end. And heading into year four, that could end up in an All-Star Game appearance.
Analyzing RJ Barrett’s strengths and weaknesses on offense for Knicks
RJ Barrett has shown lots of promise on the offensive end of the court, but there are also places where he can improve for the New York Knicks.