assuming he stays healthy I have to wonder what RJ looks like at 24-25 years old.
He's such a hard working and coachable kid.
That being said you cant assume: His shooting will improve
I think you can assume: his handle, passing, footwork, post moves and BBIQ will improve (if only marginally)
So what does a 25 year old RJ look like with improvements on his handle, passing, post moves and BBIQ (knowing the league, chemistry w/ other players etc)???
That player looks pretty good to me. What I like about his 2nd year is we are clearly seeing the things he needs to improve on to help us WIN, not just post good numbers.
fishmike wrote:assuming he stays healthy I have to wonder what RJ looks like at 24-25 years old. He's such a hard working and coachable kid.
That being said you cant assume: His shooting will improve
I think you can assume: his handle, passing, footwork, post moves and BBIQ will improve (if only marginally)
So what does a 25 year old RJ look like with improvements on his handle, passing, post moves and BBIQ (knowing the league, chemistry w/ other players etc)???
That player looks pretty good to me. What I like about his 2nd year is we are clearly seeing the things he needs to improve on to help us WIN, not just post good numbers.
I think he looks a lot like DeRozan at 24-25, but a newer version that shoots more threes.
Knixkik wrote:fishmike wrote:assuming he stays healthy I have to wonder what RJ looks like at 24-25 years old. He's such a hard working and coachable kid.
That being said you cant assume: His shooting will improve
I think you can assume: his handle, passing, footwork, post moves and BBIQ will improve (if only marginally)
So what does a 25 year old RJ look like with improvements on his handle, passing, post moves and BBIQ (knowing the league, chemistry w/ other players etc)???
That player looks pretty good to me. What I like about his 2nd year is we are clearly seeing the things he needs to improve on to help us WIN, not just post good numbers.
I think he looks a lot like DeRozan at 24-25, but a newer version that shoots more threes.
I mean that's a fantastic player. How do you not sign up for that? Knick fans are always looking for the savior (which would be nice but isnt realistic). 4x all star!
Fantastic article. Must-read - a lot of insight into areas where he has have some improvement spikes (and dips) over the course of the season so far.
I think it's great that a guy with no outside shot and poor touch around the basket has shown tremendous progress in both of those areas. He's basically gone through stretches where he's been an elite finisher and elite 3pt shooter (the latter he's been doing for the past 25 games or so without a change in volume of attempts).
As the author pointed out, these were "swing skills". His one elite skill coming out of his college was his slashing (particularly to his left). His development in finishing near the basket and shooting would be the biggest determiners of his upside, more so than his ball handling/playmaking and defense.
So yeah, if RJ is REALLY a 40% shooter from 3... we have the makings of one dangerous player.
martin wrote:
I mean you've gotta love the shooting progress, right?
Overall numbers after 38 games this season:
.447 FG%
.352 3p%
.731 FT%
(all trending up, except for perhaps FT%)
Rookie year:
.402 FG%
.320 3p%
.614 FT%
Some interesting tidbits: (PER 36)
He's actually dipped in a bunch of areas: He's taking fewer FTA's and 3PTA's than last season. His rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks are down as well.
The improvements: TOs are down (2.6 to 2.1); scoring is up (17.0 up to 18.2).
technomaster wrote:I mean you've gotta love the shooting progress, right?Overall numbers after 38 games this season:
.447 FG%
.352 3p%
.731 FT%
(all trending up, except for perhaps FT%)
Rookie year:
.402 FG%
.320 3p%
.614 FT%
Some interesting tidbits: (PER 36)
He's actually dipped in a bunch of areas: He's taking fewer FTA's and 3PTA's than last season. His rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks are down as well.
The improvements: TOs are down (2.6 to 2.1); scoring is up (17.0 up to 18.2).
He's made major improvements across the board. The shooting numbers are awesome. As a second year player, 45% from the field, 35% from 3pt, and 73% from free throw is huge. I fully believe he and Randle are 2 players to build around. Possibly Quickley too.
Barrett just seemingly looking fundamentally sound to the degree there is no flair. He does not have a natural grace or natural athletic appearance because it NOT effortless. His movements are choreographed. By contrast Quick looks like he is spazzing!
Both are doing great BTW.
Nalod wrote:Barrett just seemingly looking fundamentally sound to the degree there is no flair. He does not have a natural grace or natural athletic appearance because it NOT effortless. His movements are choreographed. By contrast Quick looks like he is spazzing!
Both are doing great BTW.
Barrett's pull-up jumper really opens up the rest of his game. He's still not a great finisher, but he has no problem getting to the basket, so the next step in his development will be ability to draw fouls more frequently.
Knixkik wrote:Nalod wrote:Barrett just seemingly looking fundamentally sound to the degree there is no flair. He does not have a natural grace or natural athletic appearance because it NOT effortless. His movements are choreographed. By contrast Quick looks like he is spazzing!
Both are doing great BTW.
Barrett's pull-up jumper really opens up the rest of his game. He's still not a great finisher, but he has no problem getting to the basket, so the next step in his development will be ability to draw fouls more frequently.
That hammer dunk last night where he moved his offhand toward the ball as though shooting and his defended left his feet was something I hadn't really picked up on before. If the issue is that he looks practiced, the insinuation is that there is no further growth because his skill is not a natural talent. I don't agree with that assessment. As this season rolls on, I think he is growing in both presence and physical strength. I am more of a fan than ever before.
Nalod wrote:Barrett just seemingly looking fundamentally sound to the degree there is no flair. He does not have a natural grace or natural athletic appearance because it NOT effortless. His movements are choreographed.
Things like that did not stop Kawhi from winning a championship. I am not saying RJ will be as good as Kawhi, but just saying.
ESOMKnicks wrote:Nalod wrote:Barrett just seemingly looking fundamentally sound to the degree there is no flair. He does not have a natural grace or natural athletic appearance because it NOT effortless. His movements are choreographed.
Things like that did not stop Kawhi from winning a championship. I am not saying RJ will be as good as Kawhi, but just saying.
I dont see any run/jump/strength issues with RJ. He's not graceful but an extremely effective athlete. Cant assume he'll become a good shooter. There's some cant teach stuff there like throwing strikes and seeing the floor. Most of my optimism comes from his IQ, work ethic and flat out quality of play at age 20. He's actually pretty good! 16/6/3 from SG and he's just always out there in it.
ESOMKnicks wrote:Nalod wrote:Barrett just seemingly looking fundamentally sound to the degree there is no flair. He does not have a natural grace or natural athletic appearance because it NOT effortless. His movements are choreographed.
Things like that did not stop Kawhi from winning a championship. I am not saying RJ will be as good as Kawhi, but just saying.
Thats not a knock on him BTW. Its an observation. This kid reminds me of Oscar Robertson. Strong and Fundamentally sound and I have great hopes for him at age 20! I’m saying he is underrated because of the optics he throws off. I think his future is very bright.
technomaster wrote:I mean you've gotta love the shooting progress, right?Overall numbers after 38 games this season:
.447 FG%
.352 3p%
.731 FT%
(all trending up, except for perhaps FT%)
Rookie year:
.402 FG%
.320 3p%
.614 FT%
Some interesting tidbits: (PER 36)
He's actually dipped in a bunch of areas: He's taking fewer FTA's and 3PTA's than last season. His rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks are down as well.
The improvements: TOs are down (2.6 to 2.1); scoring is up (17.0 up to 18.2).
He learned to take smart threes. I notice that he rarely shoots threes off the dribble. The vast majority of his 3pt attempts are catch and shoot. When he had the slump early in the year, he was taking alot of off the dribble 3pts. He learned that he still is not good at that shot, so he is limiting himself to catch and shoot threes, which has greatly helped his efficiency.
Knixkik wrote:fishmike wrote:assuming he stays healthy I have to wonder what RJ looks like at 24-25 years old. He's such a hard working and coachable kid.
That being said you cant assume: His shooting will improve
I think you can assume: his handle, passing, footwork, post moves and BBIQ will improve (if only marginally)
So what does a 25 year old RJ look like with improvements on his handle, passing, post moves and BBIQ (knowing the league, chemistry w/ other players etc)???
That player looks pretty good to me. What I like about his 2nd year is we are clearly seeing the things he needs to improve on to help us WIN, not just post good numbers.
I think he looks a lot like DeRozan at 24-25, but a newer version that shoots more threes.
Derozan was more athletic but yeah similar style impact I believe
I remember the good ole days of last year when Knick-haters were saying RJ was “slow and a terrible shooter”
TheGame wrote:technomaster wrote:I mean you've gotta love the shooting progress, right?Overall numbers after 38 games this season:
.447 FG%
.352 3p%
.731 FT%
(all trending up, except for perhaps FT%)
Rookie year:
.402 FG%
.320 3p%
.614 FT%
Some interesting tidbits: (PER 36)
He's actually dipped in a bunch of areas: He's taking fewer FTA's and 3PTA's than last season. His rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks are down as well.
The improvements: TOs are down (2.6 to 2.1); scoring is up (17.0 up to 18.2).
He learned to take smart threes. I notice that he rarely shoots threes off the dribble. The vast majority of his 3pt attempts are catch and shoot. When he had the slump early in the year, he was taking alot of off the dribble 3pts. He learned that he still is not good at that shot, so he is limiting himself to catch and shoot threes, which has greatly helped his efficiency.
Good stuff. I was wondering what had changed; something with shot or shot type
martin wrote:TheGame wrote:technomaster wrote:I mean you've gotta love the shooting progress, right?Overall numbers after 38 games this season:
.447 FG%
.352 3p%
.731 FT%
(all trending up, except for perhaps FT%)
Rookie year:
.402 FG%
.320 3p%
.614 FT%
Some interesting tidbits: (PER 36)
He's actually dipped in a bunch of areas: He's taking fewer FTA's and 3PTA's than last season. His rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks are down as well.
The improvements: TOs are down (2.6 to 2.1); scoring is up (17.0 up to 18.2).
He learned to take smart threes. I notice that he rarely shoots threes off the dribble. The vast majority of his 3pt attempts are catch and shoot. When he had the slump early in the year, he was taking alot of off the dribble 3pts. He learned that he still is not good at that shot, so he is limiting himself to catch and shoot threes, which has greatly helped his efficiency.
Good stuff. I was wondering what had changed; something with shot or shot type
Thanks. It is the same thing Quickley should do to improve his efficiency. He takes too many Steph Curry threes (2-4 ft behind the 3pt line) and he takes too many 3pts off the dribble (although admittedly Quickley is much better at of the dribble 3s than RJ, so it is understandable why he shoots so many). He needs to learn from RJ a little. Give the ball up sometimes, move around, and then get it back for an easy catch and shoot 3pt shot.
Watched the OKC game on NBATV. They said RJ has scored more points this season than any other player, 20 or under. Believe that includes Zion.
If I had to use one word to describe Barrett's game these days, it would be "versatile". RJ is showing he can do more on offense, than play bully ball.
What I've really liked from him ( saw it work for a few plays to end the game against OKC)so when Randle gets doubled in his office, about 12-15 feet away from the hoop on the right,I saw RJ make a cut into the paint and receive a pass in great scoring position. Very nice pressure release valve for Randle.
