New York Knicks: 3 takeaways from the first two weeks of the new season
By Alan Mena
3. RJ Barrett is NBA-ready
In his highly-anticipated NBA debut, RJ Barrett had a tough game against the Spurs. Barrett finished with 21 points, five rebounds, two assists, 9/13 FG, 1/3 3PT, in 37 minutes of action.
Aside from performing well in the first NBA game, Barrett managed to cement his name in the record books by becoming the second-youngest player to score at least 21 points in his debut since LeBron did so at 18.
First career double-double ✅@rjbarrett6 went to work. pic.twitter.com/hXxyibWIO0
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 29, 2019
In the Knicks’ first win of the season against the Bulls, Barrett recorded his first double-double and also etched his name in the Knicks record books with his all-around performance.
🗽 @RjBarrett6 (19 PTS, 15 REB, 5 AST) became the first @nyknicks rookie with 15+ PTS, 15+ REB, 5+AST in a game at the current @TheGarden (1968)!#NBARooks x #NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/i6OpdRPFaS
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) October 29, 2019
Through his first eight NBA games, Barrett is averaging 18.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals, 43.4 FG %, 35.7 3P%, 47.6 FT%, in 37.1 minutes. The nineteen-year-old out of Duke has shown poise and confidence handling the ball and producing efficiently on both ends of the court. The only area of concern is Barrett’s free throw shooting, which can’t be too problematic (moving forward) through only eight games.
If Barrett can keep up this level of play while steadily improving throughout the season, he can potentially be the first Knicks rookie to win the Rookie of the Year award since Mark Jackson twenty-one seasons ago (1987-1988).