NBA Realities

There is a perception that New York Knicks wing RJ Barrett has yet to show that he improved his skillset this season. Zach Braziller of the New York Post (subscription required) stated on December 1st that Barrett had underperformed on offense through 22 outings.

Barrett — after scoring 26 points and missing a potential game-tying 3-pointer in Wednesday night’s 109-103 home loss to the Bucks — is averaging an inefficient 18.8 points on 40.6 percent field-goal shooting, not to mention a dreadful 28.1 percent from 3-point range.

RJ Barrett’s current role

Although Braziller was statistically accurate, he was telling the whole story regarding Barrett’s current struggles. Barrett’s struggles are related to New York’s decision to use him off the ball with the arrival of point guard Jalen Brunson. For example, Barrett stood in the right corner early in the first quarter of a road game against the Jazz.

Barrett’s three point shooting

Barrett stayed there as Brunson went over a screen and drove to the basket, where he missed a contested floater. His current role has been the catalyst behind him taking a career-high 34.3 percent of his shots from the three-point line through 26 outings averaging 5.4 per game. He has made 28.6% of those attempts.

Barrett’s three-point ineffectiveness is in line with the rest of his basketball career, as he shot 30.8% in college on 6.2 attempts per game. On the surface, it appears he has significantly improved his percentage as a professional, shooting 34.8% on 4.7 shots per game.

But if we remove Barrett’s second season, where he converted 40.1% of his shots on 4.3 attempts, he is shooting 31.6% on 4.4 attempts. If New York wants Barrett to play better, he must be in the paint on most offensive possessions.

Barrett’s best attribute

Barrett shot 64.4% in the restricted area in college on 7.1 attempts per game. Barrett has continued to thrive in the restricted area as a professional. He is shooting 55.4 % on over five shots per game.

New York can get Barrett in the paint more frequently by moving him to the second unit. The second unit would allow him to be more involved in the team’s favorite play type. New York runs a pick and roll on 17.7% of their possessions, averaging 19.8 per game.

When running a pick and roll, they only like to have one perimeter player inside the arc. Jalen is the primary pick and roll ball handler averaging 11.2 possessions per game. He has been the ball handler on 56.5% of the team’s pick and rolls. Barrett is a distant second in category averaging 4.2 possessions per game.

Therefore, Barrett needs to come off the bench to get more ball handling opportunities. It will increase the likelihood of him taking more shots in the paint.