He’s the ticket to relevancy. He’s a playmaker and finisher and looks improved enough as a defender to be a 2-way star in the making. I expect some inconsistency as he’s still only 20 but he looks like the game is slowing down for him. Obi, Mitch and Knox in the front court and Quickley, Burks and Bullock in the backcourt are starts in building around a star wing. We need another playmaking , solid 3pt shooting/ scoring guard badly. Barrett is not a star of course yet, but the biggest objective towards building a winner is identifying star talent and maximizing it. Barrett is the first piece to the puzzle and the Knicks take the next step once he becomes the priority.
After how we loss KP, I am down with this. I just don’t see how we do it outside the draft..... even FA is thin as hell this year.
Plus outside of RJ we really don’t got decent trade assets except the draft picks.
wargames wrote:After how we loss KP, I am down with this. I just don’t see how we do it outside the draft..... even FA is thin as hell this year.Plus outside of RJ we really don’t got decent trade assets except the draft picks.
All I’m saying is we need to consider fit vs best talent. We can’t take another ball dominate scorer in the draft just because they may be the most talented player. That’s just an example. We should be accumulating players that fit alongside our best player. I think Mitch, Obi and Quickley all fit as future starters. Burks and Bullock are wings who fill roles as well. We need another guard who can shoot and play on or off the ball. The types of moves Atlanta and Memphis make for example. You can tell every move they make is with their best player in mind. That’s what we need to do going forward.
Barrett was extremely efficient today - he didn't seem to hold on to the ball very long. It looked like he's making a conscious effort to make quicker decisions and hold on to the ball less.
His shooting is probably still a work in progress and it might still be another year or two before it comes together in a big way. Shot selection will help as will more aggressive moves that put the defense on its heels. Let's give him a few games, but he might be ready to nudge his stats to 18-20ppg, 45% FG, 35% 3pt.
As an aside: Duke's 2 prior star wings, Ingram and Tatum, also had excellent games tonight. Ingram led his team in scoring and assists plus nearly had a triple double;Tatum took a lot of shots, but made a lot of 3's... and the game winner. Just remember that RJ had the most impressive freshman year for a coach K wing - ever. That should say something about his potential.
RJ has taken his game to the next level. The knock on him last year is that he was not efficient. This year looks to be highly efficient.
TheGame wrote:RJ has taken his game to the next level. The knock on him last year is that he was not efficient. This year looks to be highly efficient.
The game is slowing down for him and he’s picking his spots better. And he will look so much better with more fitting players in place of Payton and Randle eventually.
Knixkik wrote:He’s the ticket to relevancy. He’s a playmaker and finisher and looks improved enough as a defender to be a 2-way star in the making. I expect some inconsistency as he’s still only 20 but he looks like the game is slowing down for him. Obi, Mitch and Knox in the front court and Quickley, Burks and Bullock in the backcourt are starts in building around a star wing. We need another playmaking , solid 3pt shooting/ scoring guard badly. Barrett is not a star of course yet, but the biggest objective towards building a winner is identifying star talent and maximizing it. Barrett is the first piece to the puzzle and the Knicks take the next step once he becomes the priority.
Good take. This seems to be the natural order of what’s happening on the team.
Randle is still the best player which is problematic at times. He had a nice first half with 8 assists. Then we see basically Indy adjusting to force him and they also kept Barrett in check.
C Robinson
PF Toppin
SF Barrett
SG Burks (or Bullock)
PG Quickley
The lineup that maximizes Barrett is on the roster now. Hoping we get here eventually this season. Randle can either be moved or eventually be a quality 6th man. Toppin just offers more with the athleticism and more capable outside shooting. And I think with Burks, Bullock and Quickley you have 3 capable catch and shoot guys who can hit 38-40% of their 3pt attempts so floor spacing is less of an issue. I value Burks over Bullock because he can playmake on an as-needed basis while still providing a catch and shoot threat.
wargames wrote:After how we loss KP, I am down with this. I just don’t see how we do it outside the draft..... even FA is thin as hell this year.Plus outside of RJ we really don’t got decent trade assets except the draft picks.
Just keep building through the draft. That’s why it’s so important that we have many draft picks coming.
Putting the right pieces in place has always been this teams problem.
RJ statistically dealt with the worst spacing in the entire league last year, which is amazing. His skill set was obvious and they put him in a position to fail.
Which is why it’s so surprising we brought back Payton who consistently looked him off. Need to get him off this team ASAP. Rivers is going to help once he gets back as well.
What impresses me the most about RJ is how he can fill a stat sheet without dominating the ball. Usually when you "build around" a player, that player is going to get most of the touches. But RJ doesnt look like he will need to be that guy. Makes it easier to build a contender, to find stars who will want to play with him. If Barrett keeps playing this well.
wargames wrote:After how we loss KP, I am down with this. I just don’t see how we do it outside the draft..... even FA is thin as hell this year.Plus outside of RJ we really don’t got decent trade assets except the draft picks.
We keep picking the wrong players too. Obi was not a good pick. Once again I like the players the Knicks take later in the draft.
Jmpasq wrote:wargames wrote:After how we loss KP, I am down with this. I just don’t see how we do it outside the draft..... even FA is thin as hell this year.Plus outside of RJ we really don’t got decent trade assets except the draft picks.
We keep picking the wrong players too. Obi was not a good pick. Once again I like the players the Knicks take later in the draft.
Reaching a conclusion on Obi this early is silly
Jmpasq wrote:wargames wrote:After how we loss KP, I am down with this. I just don’t see how we do it outside the draft..... even FA is thin as hell this year.Plus outside of RJ we really don’t got decent trade assets except the draft picks.
We keep picking the wrong players too. Obi was not a good pick. Once again I like the players the Knicks take later in the draft.
Obi is an athletic finisher who can stretch the floor. It will take time but he should be an excellent fit with RJ.
GustavBahler wrote:What impresses me the most about RJ is how he can fill a stat sheet without dominating the ball. Usually when you "build around" a player, that player is going to get most of the touches. But RJ doesnt look like he will need to be that guy. Makes it easier to build a contender, to find stars who will want to play with him. If Barrett keeps playing this well.
That’s a great point. He’s going to be a very impactful player without a high usage. The anti westbrook sort of.
The knocks are finally doing things the right way. They have some good young pieces in place, they didn’t make any panic moves(Westbrook, Chris Paul) and the ha e flexibility and a ton of picks moving forward. Our mistake in the past was either making a panic move or just expecting FA to come here because it’s NY. Barrett is a player who is in the upswing and will attract others but for now we just gotta continue to build around him through the draft and FA that fit exec if they aren’t the “sexy” names
Knixkik wrote:He’s the ticket to relevancy. He’s a playmaker and finisher and looks improved enough as a defender to be a 2-way star in the making. I expect some inconsistency as he’s still only 20 but he looks like the game is slowing down for him. Obi, Mitch and Knox in the front court and Quickley, Burks and Bullock in the backcourt are starts in building around a star wing. We need another playmaking , solid 3pt shooting/ scoring guard badly. Barrett is not a star of course yet, but the biggest objective towards building a winner is identifying star talent and maximizing it. Barrett is the first piece to the puzzle and the Knicks take the next step once he becomes the priority.
Knicks FO claimed this was the plan in the offseason. Then for some reason resigned Payton and then made him the starter. I believe they were high on Toppin as they believe he will a quality 3 pt shooter. Which I also believe when all said and done.
Jmpasq wrote:wargames wrote:After how we loss KP, I am down with this. I just don’t see how we do it outside the draft..... even FA is thin as hell this year.Plus outside of RJ we really don’t got decent trade assets except the draft picks.
We keep picking the wrong players too. Obi was not a good pick. Once again I like the players the Knicks take later in the draft.
you thought he was after a good preseason game. I dont remember reading the 4 guys you would have taken over him.
TheGame wrote:RJ has taken his game to the next level. The knock on him last year is that he was not efficient. This year looks to be highly efficient.
He’s also hitting free throws. That’s big for him
StarksEwing1 wrote:Jmpasq wrote:wargames wrote:After how we loss KP, I am down with this. I just don’t see how we do it outside the draft..... even FA is thin as hell this year.Plus outside of RJ we really don’t got decent trade assets except the draft picks.
We keep picking the wrong players too. Obi was not a good pick. Once again I like the players the Knicks take later in the draft.
Reaching a conclusion on Obi this early is silly
Obi was fine last night. Definitely not the problem. Elfrid is a +\- black hole
MS wrote:Putting the right pieces in place has always been this teams problem.RJ statistically dealt with the worst spacing in the entire league last year, which is amazing. His skill set was obvious and they put him in a position to fail.
Which is why it’s so surprising we brought back Payton who consistently looked him off. Need to get him off this team ASAP. Rivers is going to help once he gets back as well.
RJ literally didn’t miss a shot when Quickley was running point last night
