The New York Knicks 2020-2021 regular season is just around the corner, so it only makes sense to review RJ Barrett’s rookie season.
NEW YORK KNICKS BASKETBALL IS BACK!
It’s been nine months since we watched the Knicks play basketball. While they’ve been on hiatus, all we’ve been able to do is just sit and ponder: what are the new front office’s motives? How will the team handle the offseason? Who will the Knicks draft? And which player will take the next step in their development?
We got answers to the first three questions since free agency and the draft already passed. Now we just have to wait and see which player took a step forward in their development.
As some of you are well aware, we did a season review for Frank Ntilikina, which discussed his strengths and much-needed improvements. This time around, we will look at RJ Barrett (the player formally known as the Maple Mamba) because his outlook is one of the few players that will determine if this franchise is closer to being on track for success or continuing the rebuild for the foreseeable future.
For the next month or so, we’re not going to get our answer if Barrett has improved. It will take time for the roster to get their footing and gel as a unit after not playing basketball for nine months and with a condensed preseason (this goes for some of the other young players too).
So, because it’s been a more extended offseason than usual, let’s remember how RJ’s rookie season panned out.
Barrett came out of the gate red hot. He averaged 18.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3 assists through his first five games while maintaining a 47.4 field goal percentage and a 42.1 three-point percentage. And with this type of start, it instantly won fans’ hearts.
Sadly, his overall play would stagnate midseason because he’d hit the rookie wall and then suffer an ankle injury. Also, playing in a starting lineup with limited to no floor spacing and three ball stoppers inhibited his development. Yet, he gathered himself after the rising stars challenge (right before the abrupt halt in the season) and averaged 18.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 44.8 field goal percentage, 33.3 three-point percentage, and 75.8 free throw percentage within 30.7 minutes during the last six games of the season.
Fans should be reassured the Knicks selected the right player with the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Even though Barrett didn’t crack either the all-rookie first or second team, he did finish the season averaging 14.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. In his rookie class, those numbers have him ranked third, fifth, and fifth, respectively. But like any young player in this league, they have their strengths and aspects of their game that need work.
RJ Barrett’s Strengths
One of RJ’s strengths is his ability to attack the lane and take it to the rack. According to Cleaning the Glass, 48 percent of RJ’s shot attempts came within four feet or less while averaging 9.8 drives to the basket per game. He wasn’t a great finisher by any means, considering he finished 54 percent of his shots around the rim – placing him in the 22nd percentile amongst wings. But, with Barrett’s aggressive style of play of attacking the lane and ability to draw contact, he was fouled and got to the line a lot.
RJ averaged 4.5 free throw attempts per game, which had him ranked third in his draft class. He also placed in the 92nd percentile amongst wings when being fouled in the act of shooting, grouping him around the same percentiles as Bradley Beal, Kawhi Leonard, and Luka Doncic.
Very few players can draw fouls at his age because it requires a level of maturity and understanding. It also helps that RJ is physically strong and poses substantial body control to change direction and embrace contact. We saw a glimpse of how frequent Barrett could get to the line when the Knicks played the LA Clippers this past January by tallying 11 free throw attempts.
Another Strength of RJ’s (which is slightly underrated) is his ability to rebound. As I mentioned earlier, he averaged 5 rebounds per game, which ranked him fifth amongst his fellow rookies – he also ranked 23rd out of 283 active guards in the league. For more context on Barrett’s ability to clean the glass (see what I did there?), he averaged 0.9 offensive rebounds and 4.1 defensive rebounds per game, which placed him in the 62nd and 78th percentiles, respectively.
And combining RJ’s ability to grab boards and his love for pushing the pace can help generate easy transition points – considering the Knicks ranked 28th in transition scoring.
Now, RJ’s final strength was his defense. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was defiantly one of his strong suits as a rookie.
Scouts were concerned about RJ’s ability to defend off-ball, rotate on defense, and utilize his length to deflect passes. Well, he clearly read the reports because he demonstrated that his defensive ability should not be a concern.
This past season RJ demonstrated that he could defend well enough in transition and the half-court. He showed that he could pick up the right opponent in the fast break, effectively rotate when playing help defense, and defend on-ball. Now, Barrett did have some difficultly switching around screens and sticking to his man, so he will need to improve this aspect of his defensive game (this may be due to the fact he was guarding agile shooting guards, which could be resolved by playing him at small forward in those matchups).
Furthermore, it’s clear that RJ understands how to use his length because he ranked fourth in his draft class by averaging 1 steal per game. He also ranked fifth amongst his fellow rookies in total steals by tallying 55 cookies.
Barrett still has work to do to improve on the defensive end, but he doesn’t have that far to go to become a decent defender. RJ’s finished the 2019-20 season with a box plus-minus of -1.5, which isn’t bad for being on a losing team – keep in mind, defensive metrics are difficult to rely on because it depends on the individual’s performance and their teammates’ impact (meaning the various rotations) on the defensive end as well. And with Tom Thibodeau at the helm, he should improve.
Now, even though RJ had a good season, there are still aspects of his game that he needs to work on.
RJ Barrett’s Improvements
The first area of the game that RJ needs to work on is his shooting. Draft experts warned us that RJ is an inconsistent shooter, and it showed as last season progressed.
RJ ranked in the 10th percentile with an effective field goal percentage of 44.7 percent – the league average is 52.8 percent. Barrett also shot 61.5% at the free-throw line, which had him ranked in the 4th percentile as a wing. The silver lining was that his three-point shooting was the closest thing to the league average – RJ shot 32 percent while the league average is 35.7 percent.
It will be an uphill battle for RJ to improve his shooting. But witnessing him struggle and then turn it up in late February and early March, there should be some reassurance that RJ is capable of taking that next step in becoming a more consistent shooter.
The next area where Barrett needs to improve is his finishing because he finished 54 percent of his shots around the rim, which placed him in the 22nd percentile amongst wings. A reason for RJ’s inability to finish efficiently at the cup is because he is uncomfortable attacking with his right hand. Also, he needs to be better while finishing with contact.
RJ is a lefty, and it’s more than evident that he isn’t comfortable going to his right. When he attacks with his right, there is little to no fluidity, making it difficult for him to get a full head of steam.
And when it comes to embracing contact, RJ finished 22 percent of his And-One shots, which had him in the 48thpercentile amongst wings. Now, it’s understandable because he was a rookie, and there are very few athletes who can enter the NBA and embrace the physicality of the league. So, we shouldn’t put too much stock into his inability to take contact.
The last area RJ needs to improve is his facilitating if he is considered a focal point of this rebuilding franchise (I know, when will we ever stop using that term).
We understand that Barrett can become a better initiator of the offense if he becomes a better shooter to open up the floor for his teammates, but he can also help by being a better passer. Only 12.2 percent of RJ’s passes translated into assists. Granted, Barrett didn’t have any shooters to support him (he also tended to put his head down and not look for anyone while driving into the paint). Out of 143 total assists last season, 78 of his passes were around the rim, while 36 were from three. And if you can do the math, that means that the remaining 29 assists were mid-range jumpers.
When reviewing Barrett’s playmaking ability, he had limited opportunities to work as the primary ball-handler. For instance, RJ only had 4.8 possessions per game as the primary ball-handler when it came to the pick and roll, which translated to 3.3 points per game. Those numbers placed him in the 21.9 percentile, meaning that he had sparse chances to generate offense.
We know RJ can find guys in the paint, whether it’s Mitch for lob or Randle on the block. But he will need to improve his drive & kicks, pick & rolls, and ability to find cutters once the team has shooters and solid complementary players.
Now, some may scratch their heads when I say RJ can improve as a screener. But did you know RJ set a total of two screens this season that translated into 4 points? To give you some context, Jimmy Butler set a total of 45 screens, which generated 104 points for the Miami Heat this season.
Some of the best playmakers we know understand how to get their teammates involved without the ball in their hands. Jimmy Butler, a player that Tom Thibodeau may have aspirations for RJ to become, is a prime example of a playmaker who can get teammates involved by setting screens.
We saw glimpses that RJ could be a foundational piece to get this franchise moving in the right direction. Even though his rookie campaign wasn’t as lauded as Zion, Ja, or Tyler Hero, he had a good season based on the circumstances. And while Barrett’s shooting is the most significant area of needed improvement, if he can maintain the ability to get to the free-throw line while improving his free throw percentage, he should average 18 points per game.
Grade: B
Let us know in the comments how you would rank RJ Barrett’s rookie season. Also, check out CP and J. Ellis’ takeaways from the Knicks’ preseason win against the Cavs.
