Apr 18, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) during the second quarter of game two of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Tuesday’s Game 2 beatdown featured zero positive performances from the Knicks, yet their fanbase is directing much of their fervor towards one man – RJ Barrett. It’s understandable as to why.
Barrett was New York’s third overall pick in the 2019 draft, slotted behind two superstar-caliber players and picked just ahead of Darius Garland, who cooked the Knicks for 32 points last game.
This summer, Barrett inked a massive extension and followed that up with an uninspired season, with limited signs of progression and some bad shooting and defensive stretches.
To be fair, he dealt with a finger injury and needed to work out his role now beside two stars, and though it’s become cliché, he’s only 22 years old. Still, many were ready to forgive his up-and-down regular season if he came to play in the most important Knicks series in a decade.
He hasn’t so far. Through two games, Barrett has accumulated 21 points on 6-for-25 shooting from the field.
There are many adjustments to be made and ways for the Knicks to still win this series, but Barrett figuring it out isn’t only pivotal to the next week, but the franchise’s years to come. If he can’t, the Knicks are down a man against a tough Cavs team, and will have to make a decision on a bust set to earn close to $30 million.
The struggles for Barrett have largely centered around his scoring efficiency. Because he doesn’t have the sharpest handle, softest touch or smoothest jumper, he has to be very choosy and effectively physical to get buckets at a nice rate.
Volume isn’t an issue, as the Knicks trusted him as their third option this year after being their pseudo-number one the back half of last season. He’s put up back-to-back 20 points per game campaigns, just on rocky shooting numbers.
In 2021-22, Barrett made 44.2 percent of his twos — not great, but a decent 34.2 percent from three given…
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