0/6, 0/3, 3/7, 0/5 then 1/7. After five games, RJ Barrett is posting a very weak 4/28 (14.3%) behind the 3-point line. But nothing to worry about his coach, Tom Thibodeau, who always gives him the green light.
“Let him go. If it’s open, let it shoot”, replied the coachasked about the subject after the setback against the Bucks. “The more he shoots, the more comfortable he will be. I have complete confidence in him. »
The problem is that RJ Barrett had already experienced problems of this type last year, his address in particular falling from 40% to 34% between the 2020/21 season and the 2021/22 season, behind the line at 3 -points.
He had notably experienced a complicated start to the season, at 29% in November and 33% in December, before raising the bar in January (40%) and February (39%), then relapsing at the end of the season, in particular in March (31%).
No link with the defensive charge?
In New York, some wonder, however, if it is not linked to the defensive load he has had to assume since the departure of Reggie Bullock, in the summer of 2021. Main outside defender of Tom Thibodeau since, while Jalen Brunson and Evan Fournier are limited in this area, so it is one of the players who cover the most distance in defensebehind only Tyrese Maxey, Keegan Murray and Mikal Bridges.
The coach found the question ” comical “while RJ Barrett assures that it’s just about finding your rhythm.
“I feel like I defended last year, and I ended up doing pretty well, finding my rhythm. I could definitely play better offensively but I feel my rhythm is coming back after not playing for a while. But my rhythm is slowly coming back with each game, so everything will be fine”.
| 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 |
| 2022-23 | NYK | 4 | 35 | 37.0 | 14.3 | 87.5 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 6.3 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 17.8 |
| Total | 202 | 34 | 41.7 | 35.2 | 70.0 | 1.0 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 17.5 | |
