HofstraBBall wrote:martin wrote:Amazing
I was a doubter/ Great to see the kid progress to such a level. All at just 20 years old!! Starting to believe the Mamba Mentality is real and will get him to new heights. Go RJ!!
This is what happens when a team has patience and surrounds its high draft picks with talent and good coaching
Unlike the Jets who did absolutely none of that with Sam Darnold who is about to make them look really stupid
Great that he's really improved his outside shooting. Despite that he still seems feast or famine from night to night. Hopefully he keeps working and next year comes back with more consistency and more diversity on offense (eg floater, shoot off dribble more).
jskinny35 wrote:Great that he's really improved his outside shooting. Despite that he still seems feast or famine from night to night. Hopefully he keeps working and next year comes back with more consistency and more diversity on offense (eg floater, shoot off dribble more).
I don’t mind if the shooting is inconsistent for the time being but he absolutely has to improve his finishing around the basket. I really hope he and Drew Hanlen decide to prioritize that this Summer.
Only ONE 20 year old in the history of the NBA averaged at least 17.5ppg/3.0apg/5.5rpg and shot at least 40%+ from 3.
And that one player would be
Rowan Alexander Barrett Jr.
(We might as well reserve a spot for him in the Basketball HoF now.)
martin wrote:
yeah I got blasted for saying that RJ is as good as Ja right now. In this league shooting changes everything and RJ is at 40% while Ja has dropped to 30%. Ja is a fantastic player but his poor shooting is a massive hole in his game. RJ you can play with anyone. He can shoot it or take it to the rim. He's a 2-way bucket getter.
RJ has his head screwed on right. Certainly not as athletic or flashy as Zion and Ja but he's been playing winning basketball.
His shooting improved (e.g., as judged by FT%), but more so than that has his shot selection which is as responsible for his 3pt% as his form.
there's some part of me that thinks Zion and Ja are playing near their apex and RJ's game will improve every year
Very happy for him even if he weren't a Knick
Chandler wrote:RJ has his head screwed on right. Certainly not as athletic or flashy as Zion and Ja but he's been playing winning basketball.His shooting improved (e.g., as judged by FT%), but more so than that has his shot selection which is as responsible for his 3pt% as his form.
there's some part of me that thinks Zion and Ja are playing near their apex and RJ's game will improve every year
Very happy for him even if he weren't a Knick
I never like the fact that Zion played less than half a season and got the ROY.
Pick 3, but got his team to the playoffs 1st
RJ started out tight last night but played much better 2nd half
Unlike Randle who was tight all night
The left hand thunder dunk over Bogey was a Garden shaking moment. Bogey got him back later in the game with the 3.
martin wrote:
I think a lot of folks here underrate RJ because he doesn't "look" super smooth and he doesn't have all-world athletic ability. I hope we're patient and decide to ride this out and finally let a home grown talent develop here versus on another team.
I think he's one of the most under rated guys in the entire league.
He just turned 21 and would be going into his senior year. The improvements in plus minus, shooting percentage from deep and the foul line were off the charts. He still doesn't have a point guard that can get easy buckets and space the floor.
He will likely be scoring 20pts a game which isn't easy too do in this league.
Honestly if they can nail a couple of shooters in this draft everything becomes a lot brighter. Fully expect massive improvements for Mitch, IQ and Toppin.
More importantly than anything is the work ethic, the desire to get better and the fact that he tunes out the noise.
MS wrote:I think he's one of the most under rated guys in the entire league. He just turned 21 and would be going into his senior year. The improvements in plus minus, shooting percentage from deep and the foul line were off the charts. He still doesn't have a point guard that can get easy buckets and space the floor.
He will likely be scoring 20pts a game which isn't easy too do in this league.
Honestly if they can nail a couple of shooters in this draft everything becomes a lot brighter. Fully expect massive improvements for Mitch, IQ and Toppin.
More importantly than anything is the work ethic, the desire to get better and the fact that he tunes out the noise.
I don't think he's underrated at all, in fact one my say he under achieved under Fizdale and his staff.
His shooting was suspect in college, BUT trust me had he been shooting 37% coming into the draft he would have went ahead of Ja.
knicks1248 wrote:MS wrote:I think he's one of the most under rated guys in the entire league. He just turned 21 and would be going into his senior year. The improvements in plus minus, shooting percentage from deep and the foul line were off the charts. He still doesn't have a point guard that can get easy buckets and space the floor.
He will likely be scoring 20pts a game which isn't easy too do in this league.
Honestly if they can nail a couple of shooters in this draft everything becomes a lot brighter. Fully expect massive improvements for Mitch, IQ and Toppin.
More importantly than anything is the work ethic, the desire to get better and the fact that he tunes out the noise.
I don't think he's underrated at all, in fact one my say he under achieved under Fizdale and his staff.
His shooting was suspect in college, BUT trust me had he been shooting 37% coming into the draft he would have went ahead of Ja.
An 18 year old rookie starts all but one game he plays in and averages over 14 ppg and he "underachieved?" Wow...tough crowd.
Welpee wrote:knicks1248 wrote:MS wrote:I think he's one of the most under rated guys in the entire league. He just turned 21 and would be going into his senior year. The improvements in plus minus, shooting percentage from deep and the foul line were off the charts. He still doesn't have a point guard that can get easy buckets and space the floor.
He will likely be scoring 20pts a game which isn't easy too do in this league.
Honestly if they can nail a couple of shooters in this draft everything becomes a lot brighter. Fully expect massive improvements for Mitch, IQ and Toppin.
More importantly than anything is the work ethic, the desire to get better and the fact that he tunes out the noise.
I don't think he's underrated at all, in fact one my say he under achieved under Fizdale and his staff.
His shooting was suspect in college, BUT trust me had he been shooting 37% coming into the draft he would have went ahead of Ja.
An 18 year old rookie starts all but one game he plays in and averages over 14 ppg and he "underachieved?" Wow...tough crowd.
It's more about where your picked, high lottery picks are suppose to be game changers to some degree.
If he was picked between 10 and 15, he would be a consider a steal.
The higher you pick the higher the expectations
knicks1248 wrote:Welpee wrote:knicks1248 wrote:MS wrote:I think he's one of the most under rated guys in the entire league. He just turned 21 and would be going into his senior year. The improvements in plus minus, shooting percentage from deep and the foul line were off the charts. He still doesn't have a point guard that can get easy buckets and space the floor.
He will likely be scoring 20pts a game which isn't easy too do in this league.
Honestly if they can nail a couple of shooters in this draft everything becomes a lot brighter. Fully expect massive improvements for Mitch, IQ and Toppin.
More importantly than anything is the work ethic, the desire to get better and the fact that he tunes out the noise.
I don't think he's underrated at all, in fact one my say he under achieved under Fizdale and his staff.
His shooting was suspect in college, BUT trust me had he been shooting 37% coming into the draft he would have went ahead of Ja.
An 18 year old rookie starts all but one game he plays in and averages over 14 ppg and he "underachieved?" Wow...tough crowd.
It's more about where your picked, high lottery picks are suppose to be game changers to some degree.
If he was picked between 10 and 15, he would be a consider a steal.
The higher you pick the higher the expectations
only for people who dont understand the draft. Draft position doesnt mean shit. The quality of the draft does. Some drafts have a handful of cant miss prospects in the top 10, other drafts have no franchise talent at all. Its about doing the best you can in the context of the talent you are picking from.
Welpee wrote:knicks1248 wrote:MS wrote:I think he's one of the most under rated guys in the entire league. He just turned 21 and would be going into his senior year. The improvements in plus minus, shooting percentage from deep and the foul line were off the charts. He still doesn't have a point guard that can get easy buckets and space the floor.
He will likely be scoring 20pts a game which isn't easy too do in this league.
Honestly if they can nail a couple of shooters in this draft everything becomes a lot brighter. Fully expect massive improvements for Mitch, IQ and Toppin.
More importantly than anything is the work ethic, the desire to get better and the fact that he tunes out the noise.
I don't think he's underrated at all, in fact one my say he under achieved under Fizdale and his staff.
His shooting was suspect in college, BUT trust me had he been shooting 37% coming into the draft he would have went ahead of Ja.
An 18 year old rookie starts all but one game he plays in and averages over 14 ppg and he "underachieved?" Wow...tough crowd.
It’s crazy how RJ got dismissed by fans and the media as a rookie. If I said anything positive about RJ’s rookie year people literally looked at me like I was from Mars
knicks1248 wrote:Welpee wrote:knicks1248 wrote:MS wrote:I think he's one of the most under rated guys in the entire league. He just turned 21 and would be going into his senior year. The improvements in plus minus, shooting percentage from deep and the foul line were off the charts. He still doesn't have a point guard that can get easy buckets and space the floor.
He will likely be scoring 20pts a game which isn't easy too do in this league.
Honestly if they can nail a couple of shooters in this draft everything becomes a lot brighter. Fully expect massive improvements for Mitch, IQ and Toppin.
More importantly than anything is the work ethic, the desire to get better and the fact that he tunes out the noise.
I don't think he's underrated at all, in fact one my say he under achieved under Fizdale and his staff.
His shooting was suspect in college, BUT trust me had he been shooting 37% coming into the draft he would have went ahead of Ja.
An 18 year old rookie starts all but one game he plays in and averages over 14 ppg and he "underachieved?" Wow...tough crowd.
It's more about where your picked, high lottery picks are suppose to be game changers to some degree.
If he was picked between 10 and 15, he would be a consider a steal.
The higher you pick the higher the expectations
Thanks for the Max Kellerman talking points
