I know it is only summer league and just one game but this is what I see:
Pros:
1. The kid looks like he is going To be a solid rebounder for a guard. He still needs to get used to NBA players, but he is not afraid to go after rebounds and box out
2. The kid is strong and will get to the line
3. The kid is not scared
Cons:
1. The kid has a bad habit of half-as-ing on defense. When engaged fully, he looks like he can be a decent defender but I saw at least three times he badly missed a shot or turned the ball over and only went through the motions on getting back. Fiz has to beat that out of him and I don't want to hear about being gassed. If you can't hustle back after turning the ball over, then when are you going to hustle back. Plus, he was doing the same thing in college.
2. We all knew he needs to work on his jumper, and he still needs to continue that work.
3. We all knew he needs to work on his free throws, and he needs to continue that work.
4. He needs to develop his right hand.
5. As far as his ball hogging ways, I will give him a pass because I know he was probably trying to compete with Zion, but he also needs to work on recognizing passing opportunities.
All in all, it was a decent first game. Let's see how he looks next game.
You lost me at Fizz has to beat that out of him.
This very accurate as for what I saw. underwhelming is not an overstatement.
First game - his energy was LOW. Too low.
Good news is that he will only get bettter from here.
First we learn that Barrett's not a particularly good shooter. Next we learn that he's not a great athlete. It looks like we're going to have another long losing season.
Ira wrote:First we learn that Barrett's not a particularly good shooter. Next we learn that he's not a great athlete. It looks like we're going to have another long losing season.
Were you expecting anything close to a finished product in Barrett's first pro game? He isnt getting pushed around like most rookies. Aerobically, he looked like he needs more time on the treadmill. Didnt take too long for him to run out of gas. Expect better when his stamina improves.
Even if he was bringing it and looking for the challenge, he looked a little overwhelmed with the speed. It didn’t hel that we had no organization on offense so everyone was trying to break their man and only got bad and contested shots.
All the points are valid and the coaching staff definitely has work to do with him. But he looks ready and willing, so it will be good.
I thought he was trying to find a way to get involved, perhaps a touch tentative but it's his first game in the NBA. Like the OP said, too soon.
Knox however was making me crazy. Yes he hit some shots, but his motor and lazy-looking demeanor was frustrating to watch. No desire to get rebounds or loose balls. Loping around out there. Just wants to catch a pass and put up shots. He needs to show much more fire and agressiveness when he doesn't have the ball.
Knicksfan wrote:Even if he was bringing it and looking for the challenge, he looked a little overwhelmed with the speed. It didn’t hel that we had no organization on offense so everyone was trying to break their man and only got bad and contested shots.All the points are valid and the coaching staff definitely has work to do with him. But he looks ready and willing, so it will be good.
For 19 years rookie he looked good.
Has long way and years to go to realize his potential.
Zion is a beast... but I am not sure how his body will be able to carry this weight even its all muscle (and it is not really all that for now).
There are a lot of rock solid big players in NBA and they will make him pay with his body.
He and Pelicans really need to understand that he need to be protected as much as possible.
I think he should be playing behind Bullock and Ellington for the 1st half of the season while he adjusts. Then maybe by then hes ready to be unleashed.
His potential on defense jumped out to me.
If only we had an actual coach
RJ has no fear is right. You can tell he’s a killer.
arkrud wrote:Knicksfan wrote:Even if he was bringing it and looking for the challenge, he looked a little overwhelmed with the speed. It didn’t hel that we had no organization on offense so everyone was trying to break their man and only got bad and contested shots.All the points are valid and the coaching staff definitely has work to do with him. But he looks ready and willing, so it will be good.
For 19 years rookie he looked good.
Has long way and years to go to realize his potential.
Zion is a beast... but I am not sure how his body will be able to carry this weight even its all muscle (and it is not really all that for now).
There are a lot of rock solid big players in NBA and they will make him pay with his body.
He and Pelicans really need to understand that he need to be protected as much as possible.
There is no reason to expect Zion to have an injury but so many big, young, athletic prospects have their career trajectory altered by it, like Larry Johnson. Sure he was great for us but he was no Grandmama
I think we can see why Duke didn't win it all. They had 3 top ten players, including #1 & 3, and none of them shot above 34% from the
college 3Pt line.
You never go by one SL game in judging a player, but you can look at technique. Barret has a flat shot, so he has a minimal margin of error. I wasn't looking at him too closely, but did he get a lot of lift from his legs when he shot, or is he more of a limited jumper when he shoots? I expect he's not using his legs enough.
I will say that although he missed this shot badly (second tweet), he did have a pretty good arc on it.
[Tweet]https://twitter.com/SKPearlman/status/1147512169891807233[/tweet]
Zion looks like he never had a coach talk to him in his life about shooting, I guess because he was the big guy who could simply overpower everyone. Amazing that he shot better from the 3 in college than Barret.
If I'm guarding either of these guys, I'm backing off and daring them to shoot, especially Zion. You have to be an idiot if you try to guard him up tight. Make them prove they can shoot from midrange before you get in their face.
Did not see much D from RJ, and as some have said, he didn't seem to show much energy, but that might just be him being unsure and hesitant at this early point.
Barrett didn't show me any special talent!
After one game it’s clear RJ, like all rookies, will never improve
bigjeep8 wrote:Barrett didn't show me any special talent!
Well I guess we should cut him then. Lots of NBA scouts showing up here. Hard to believe anyone would be concerned after the first summer league game for a 19 year old. I’d be more concerned if he was the finished product now.
Trae Young looked terrible during summer league last year, it’s just one game.
His shot looks a little flat, doesn’t have tremendous bounce in his body. Definitely takes time to
Figure out specific gears and it was a scene last night. He’s not going to be a star anytime soon, but has good composure so hopefully he starts putting in the work.
Zion looked 15 pounds heavier and unbelievably out of shape. His athleticism is just mind blowing that he can explode that way with that much force playing into shape.
Knicksfan wrote:Even if he was bringing it and looking for the challenge, he looked a little overwhelmed with the speed. It didn’t hel that we had no organization on offense so everyone was trying to break their man and only got bad and contested shots.All the points are valid and the coaching staff definitely has work to do with him. But he looks ready and willing, so it will be good.
His game relied on a lot of hesitation/change of pace dribbles at Duke. I think he will be able to sort out the game speed after a couple of games. I'm more disappointed with his unwillingness to pass off the drive. Even with someone like Harden, who is a far better creator, it's the threat of the pass that makes him dangerous. RJ needs to recognize that he'll make things easier for himself when he hits the open man. He looked like an amateur trying to barrel through three defenders last night.
The people who are pointing out the basketball flaws without overreacting are correct. He needed to play better defense. RJ is going to struggle adapting to the NBA 3 point line. He needed to open his eyes a bit more. I think he was trying to establish himself as a good Zion Villain but it wasn’t in the cards last night.
His needs:
Work on the midrange
Get to the line
Work on the free throws
Be efficient as hell around the basket.
Work on open NBA 3s.
Pass when nothing is there
Just give your full effort on defense.
If at least 2 or 3 of those improve considerably during Summer league then I’ll be happy.
People saying he’s not going go amount to much are idiots.
GoNyGoNyGo wrote:This very accurate as for what I saw. underwhelming is not an overstatement. First game - his energy was LOW. Too low.
Good news is that he will only get bettter from here.
remember trae young from the first summer league game? we were all beating up on him
Cartman718 wrote:GoNyGoNyGo wrote:This very accurate as for what I saw. underwhelming is not an overstatement. First game - his energy was LOW. Too low.
Good news is that he will only get bettter from here.
remember trae young from the first summer league game? we were all beating up on him
Heck, I remember Derrick Rose's entire SL run his rookie year. That was putrid. That said, I try to look at how a player looks around other NBA caliber athletes, not so much stats. If anyone was a but underwhelming, it was Kareem Allen. We needed a vet pg to organize the team in this chaotic atmosphere.
MS wrote:Trae Young looked terrible during summer league last year, it’s just one game.His shot looks a little flat, doesn’t have tremendous bounce in his body. Definitely takes time to
Figure out specific gears and it was a scene last night. He’s not going to be a star anytime soon, but has good composure so hopefully he starts putting in the work.
Zion looked 15 pounds heavier and unbelievably out of shape. His athleticism is just mind blowing that he can explode that way with that much force playing into shape.
The difference is Tre Young looked good in college. Barrett scares the hell out of me. We need him to be very good when most likely he will be a similar talent to Wiggins. Knicks still don't get that 3 point shooting and perimeter defense is the way to win in this league. I feel like we are still building a team with the last decade in mind. Going after high volume poor scorers.
