Third-year Knicks swingman RJ Barrett is honing in on the defensive side of the ball this year, per Greg Joyce of The New York Post.
“The biggest part I’ve been trying to work on is my defense. I want to be first-team All-Defense,” Barrett said after a recent team practice. “Try to make every night a struggle for anybody I’m guarding.”
“He’s a terrific player,” head coach Tom Thibodeau raved about the 21-year-old wing, drafted with the third pick out of Duke in 2019. “We are asking him to do more this year, but I think he’s ready for that challenge.”
There’s more out of Madison Square Garden:
- New Knicks starting point guard Kemba Walker has had a bit of an up-and-down start to his Knicks tenure, but Thibodeau would not give up on the 31-year-old vet, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Through his first three games, Walker averaged 10.3 PPG across 25.7 minutes, with a team-worst -17 plus-minus rating. “We need everyone to play well, so it’s not falling on Kemba,” Thibodeau said ahead of New York’s contest this evening against the Sixers. “Kemba is a good player. We know that. We’re still finding our way. Just be who you are.” The confidence Thibodeau had in Walker seems to have borne fruit in the short-term: Walker just led the Knicks to a 112-99 defeat of the Sixers. The point guard had a team-high 19 points (on 7-of-15 shooting), plus five assists, two boards, two steals and a block.
- While the effort of the Knicks may vary from game to game, the commitment of Thibodeau never does, says Steve Popper of Newsday. “Thibs is a hell of a coach,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers raved ahead of their teams’ matchup Tuesday night. “Worked with me for three years (on the Celtics), felt like nine, I’m not sure. But he’s just good. He works his butt off. He’s in love with the game of basketball. If every player had that same passion they’d be better players. Same for coaching.”
- Though drama may persist for several other playoff-level teams in the Atlantic Division, most notably the Sixers and the Nets, the Knicks have established a steady, supportive culture around All-Star forward Julius Randle and Thibodeau, writes Barbara Barker of Newsday.
Randle led in ast tonight. Like to see Kemba do that. Kemba had his first good gm tonight. Knicks handled Sixers pretty well. This was a statement game. Knicks will be there till end. Their depth is their strength. RJ has to find a way to fit in. He’s too good a player not to. Fournier cause he is shooter is fitting like a glove. Mitch anchors the D. And Knicks will be fine. It’s all about Thibs. Players will play for him. And he will look out for them. Knicks looked good tonight. But RJ can be better. Our bench can be better. Knicks are building something good here. I like this team. Nice win tonight.
Agree that RJ could be better. Needs to start hitting 3s and being a little more aggressive. His defense has been great, though.
Doc Rivers talked about using isaiah joe and Paul Reed and then didnt, and instead went with Andre Drummond and Korkmaz in a matchup that makes no sense, against a team playing several guards…The Knicks definitely had the advantage in the matchup with their starters. Nobody Philly has can guard Randle, except Simmons, and Kemba, Fournier, and Barrett vs Maxey, Curry, and Green is in favor of the Knicks b/c of size, but also b/c the defensive assignments arent too much for those first 2 to handle. Philly needs their depth in this matchup, especially without Simmons, and they once again failed to use it b/c Doc Rivers doesnt even know who plays on his own team
Nice to see Kemba have a strong game. They need him to be efficient, and be an attacker. I also really liked his comments after the game. Regardless of anything, this guy has a lot of poise, and backs up how he carries himself with hard work, and that’s probably one of the reasons he has been considered a leader for a long time
Sixer fan here, very impressed with knicks .Great depth intensity on D
Impressive. Sixers have holes.
I’ld like the Knicks to go hard on vanvleet… they lack a true PG for moving the ball more (Burks & picks)
I don’t see this happening or really see how it would improve the team. Because of guys like RJ and Mitchell Robinson, who are defense-first, the Knicks PG needs to double as a top scoring option/facilitator, and that’s why Walker and Rose work for this team. Plus, they already have too many PGs (Walker, Rose, IQ; McBride as well, though he’s not likely to get a lot of PT).
Burks plus picks doesn’t work salary-wise, either. Not sure who the Knicks could add to make that work. Prior to acquiring Walker, maybe.
Vanvleet is 9 assists+15pts, no knicks PG is (or will) give you that much, plus his work ethic is clearly Thibodeau compatible… Knicks looked for floor general PG before so if Raptors season turns to Play in contention or Kemba’knee blows, i could see Rose go back at Vanvleet …
Knicks looking good, once again. Sixers looking bad, once again.
Barrett is a gem. Rare for a young player to approach the game as he does. Last year, he adjusted his game mid-year to play better with Randle. This year he’s been asked (by necessity) to take on a leading role defensively, and he’s embraced it. His physical talents aren’t really those of a natural defensive stopper (any more than they were those of a natural 40% 3 pt shooter), but, due to his basketball IQ, pride and work ethic, I expect he’ll rise to occasion again and be what we need.
As much as I wanted the Knicks to get Zion in the draft maybe RJ turns into a better player.
That will never happen, so don’t even think about it!
If health weren’t a factor you go with Zion. But since that much mass packed into a small frame cannot be ignored, there was always a real case to go with Morant or even RJ over Zion.
Personally, I had Morant first on my board as a result. If I had drafted Zion, I’d have probably traded him for a king’s ransom.
That’s called having Kemba Walker and Fournier on your team,’’ Rivers said. “They needed to score more. I think Thibs knew that.’
It’s what I been saying since last yr. Our offense has improved, yees. Our depth has improved. This team can definitely play better. They overlooked Magic and paid for it. But came ready for Philly. It’s a nice win. The offense was spread around and Kemba played well. Are best things about this game. I know Philly is not 100%. But they are still a good team. And we handled them most of the game. That says something to me. RJ will come around. I’d still like to see Kemba run team more. For me Randle handles ball too much. I’d like to see more offense run. And take your shots from that. Gotta say I called it with Fournier. His game is just what we needed. It’s early but all signs point to a good year. Bulls up next. Another team trying to make a statement this yr. Playing in ChiTown. This should be a good game.
link to nypost.com