His statement did not go unnoticed. A week ago, on media day, RJ Barrett had announced that the Knicks were going ” shock the world “.
Pretentious prediction about a team that finished far from the playoffs last year? Or a surge of confidence linked to the summer recruitments of Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein?
” I was trying to say that we all have something to prove. We all work extremely hard every day to play and prove ourselves. I always feel like I have something to prove. We feel like we have something to prove. If collectively we can arrive every day with the right mindset and playing together, offensively, defensively and everything falls into place, then we can do something special », he deciphers with the New York Post.
At this point, getting a taste of the playoffs again, like they did in 2021, would already be special for the Knicks.
” I feel it and I still believe it. It shows in what we produce in the game, the way we compete in the training camp and the way everyone fought to try to win on everything describes the guard who, along with Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson, will be one of the most watched Knicks players this coming season.
The interior is expected to rebound after a failed season, while the leader will try to change status after his fiery playoffs in Dallas. The Canadian, he will have to justify his beautiful contract extension: 120 million over four years (including all bonuses). An extension that had ended the Donovan Mitchell soap opera.
To get there, and possibly qualify for a first All-Star selection, he will have to become more efficient. The former Duke has certainly increased his average points to 20 units last season. But his success percentages have all gone down again: 40.8% on shots, including 34% from afar as well as a very sluggish 71% on the throw line. A sector on which he focused during the offseason.
” It’s something I really need to master. These are points not to be given, not only for me, but for the team. Let’s say we lose a game by one point and I miss three free throws. These are things that haunt when you look back », Formulates the 22-year-old player. We imagine that a second year of collective scarcity is also likely to “haunt” it…
| RJ Barrett | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2019-20 | NYK | 56 | 30 | 40.2 | 32.0 | 61.4 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 14.3 |
| 2020-21 | NYK | 72 | 35 | 44.1 | 40.1 | 74.6 | 0.9 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 17.6 |
| 2021-22 | NYK | 70 | 35 | 40.8 | 34.2 | 71.4 | 0.9 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 20.0 |
| Total | 198 | 34 | 41.8 | 35.7 | 69.7 | 0.9 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 17.5 | |
