![]() Although he’s evolved into a dangerous driver toward the rim, he needs to add another elite element on offense to become an All-Star. He also had at least six free-throw attempts in those games, which helped him get easy points in the flow of the offense.įor Barrett to take the last step to stardom, which is often the hardest to do, he’ll need to become a scorer that the Knicks can count on every night. When looking at Barrett’s five highest career scoring games, there’s a noticeable trend: Barrett shot better than 50% from two-point range and better than 40% from three-point range in all five of his best performances. When he’s hot, he showcases the game-breaking scoring skills that are the hallmark of star players such as when he put up 44 points for the Knicks against Chicago earlier this year: So far, Barrett’s inconsistency has kept him from approaching his ceiling as a player. Blake Griffin, Paul George, and James Harden all famously broke out and made their first All-Star appearance in the fourth season, alongside many other stars. His stats compared to last year are almost copy-and-paste, as Barrett is averaging 19.9 points, 3.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 0.5 steals, and 2.4 turnovers in 2022-2023, none of which is more than 0.3 away from any of last year’s averages.Īlthough he’s only 22 years old, Barrett is currently a fourth-year player in The Association, which is typically when NBA players make the leap from “pretty good” to certified stardom. This has left former 3rd overall pick RJ Barrett to serve as the third banana on the team. When it comes to basketball, the Knicks sit squarely in the above-average territory, just a half-game behind Indiana for the 6th seed in the East despite the 8th-best net rating in the entire NBA.īoth Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle have answered the bell for the team, with Brunson in particular bringing his winning mojo from the Mavs to the Knicks. They need him to be a reliable starter when the situation calls for it, as it did on Tuesday.To paraphrase a popular saying, New York as a city serves as a key litmus test for how good someone is at something. That's not what is expected of a high first-round pick, and the Knicks need to do a better job of developing Toppin into more than just a splashy dunker and occasional contributor. Toppin finished with an underwhelming 10 points and seven rebounds. And then Taj, it’s his experience, his defense." "It was really the way the game was flowing," Thibodeau said, per SNY's Ian Begley. "That group that started the fourth, had a pretty good run going. Toppin, who has averaged 14.9 minutes, stepped in for Randle on Tuesday but was pulled late in the game as Thibodeau went with the more seasoned Taj Gibson-though, to be fair, Toppin did have five fouls. ![]() Because Randle is usually in the starting lineup, though, Toppin hasn't gotten a ton of playing time. However, injuries are part of the NBA, and the best squads are capable of overcoming short-term absences. One could argue that New York would have won with Randle in the lineup. But you're not eliminated until you're eliminated so keep fighting."Īs a practical matter, New York is eyeing the offseason, and it should use the remaining time to further develop 2020 eighth overall draft pick Obi Toppin. "The position we're in, they're all must-have games," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. Mathematically, the Knicks aren't out of the playoff picture just yet, though coach Tom Thibodeau noted that they're running out of chances. That will be a problem for opponents down the stretch and in the playoffs, where the Hawks appear to be almost certainly headed. When Young heats up, he's capable of taking over a game as well as anyone in the league. But definitely, he shouldn't have had 45 or whatever he had," Barrett told SNY. "Someone who has the ball all game is gonna score, that's a given. With fast play, clutch shots and plenty of nifty ball-handling, Young sliced through the Knicks defense for the majority of the evening. The problem was that New York couldn't find an answer. ![]() He got plenty of help from Bogdan Bogdanovic, who scored 32 off the bench, but Young was the centerpiece, and New York knew it. ![]() Tuesday's performance, though, was a reminder that Young is special enough to carry the Hawks into the play-in tournament and quite possibly beyond. "Hold that L," Young told a heckler late in the game (h/t Roy Wood Jr. He was again vocal during Tuesday night's win in New York. While Atlanta came in with three straight losses to New York, the Hawks dominated the Knicks in last year's playoffs-and Young drew the ire of the Knicks faithful in the process. No one needed this game to know that Young has a knack for creating animosity at Madison Square Garden No one needed this game to know that Young is a star.
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