3 Knicks players that must perform better in December

1: RJ Barrett

For the Knicks to have a shot at making it to the play-in tournament, RJ Barrett needs to be more consistent. He started the season in a slump that lasted longer than fans thought it would, but recently, he’s turned a corner.

New York signed Barrett to an extension rather than trade for Donovan Mitchell over the summer, which caused people to scrutinize RJ’s game. It didn’t help that he got off to a shaky start, and even though he did the same in previous seasons, the Knicks can’t afford to not be able to rely on Barrett.

In Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee, Barrett finished one point short of his season-high with 26 points (8-of-15), but after Grayson Allen hit a three-pointer to put the Bucks ahead by three with 30 seconds to go, RJ threw up a poor shot with time left on the shot clock when he could’ve gotten a better look. His decision-making is something that must improve.

It’s year four for RJ and although he isn’t responsible for New York’s roster construction, his extension signaled that the front office was moving forward with constructing the roster around him. The Knicks need a consistent RJ Barrett, so let’s see what he can do in these next 60 games.

Pass or Pursue on 5 proposed Derrick Rose, Immanuel Quickley Knicks trades

Given the Knicks' mediocre start to the season, trade speculation has begun to fly around members of the team such as Immanuel Quickley and Derrick Rose.