RJ Barrett Rumors | Hoops Rumors

RJ Barrett In Health And Safety Protocols

December 12th, 2021 at 8:13am CST by Arthur Hill

RJ Barrett has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, the Knicks announced (via Twitter). He will miss today’s game against the Bucks and maybe several more. He joins teammate Obi Toppin, who was placed in the protocols on Saturday.

As with Toppin, there is no word on whether Barrett tested positive for COVID-19 or has just been in contact with someone who has the virus. If he is positive, Barrett will be sidelined for a minimum of 10 days unless he returns two consecutive negative tests more than 24 hours apart.

The third-year swingman is averaging 15.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists through 25 games. Losing Barrett and Toppin will be the latest obstacle for a Knicks team that is off to a disappointing 12-14 start after finishing fourth in the East last season.

New York Notes: Durant, Harden, Turner, Barrett

December 8th, 2021 at 8:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets are resting Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge for tonight’s game in Houston, tweets Mark Medina of NBA.com. Durant played more than 40 minutes in Tuesday’s win at Dallas, and Brooklyn is being careful not to overextend Aldridge, who briefly retired at the end of last season due to a heart condition.

There have been concerns about the heavy minutes that Durant and James Harden have seen this season with the loss of Kyrie Irving and injuries to other rotation players. Harden said Tuesday that neither of them minds the increased workload, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

“One thing about me and KD, we love to play basketball,” Harden said. “So it don’t matter. We could play the whole 48. Even if we’re exhausted. Coach says something — nope. We wanna stay in the game. We wanna play.”

There’s more from New York City:

Harden received a mostly positive reaction when he was introduced tonight in Houston, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Harden, who played more than eight seasons with the Rockets before forcing his way out in January, returned to Houston for a game last season, but the crowd was limited because of COVID-19 restrictions. “I think it definitely means something to James,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “I don’t want to overstate it, but I also don’t want to understate it. He had such a historic run here. This city means a ton to him.”
A report that the Pacers are exploring trades involving Myles Turner could be significant to the Knicks, who checked on Turner’s availability during the offseason, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Those talks didn’t go very far, Begley adds, but New York’s front office remains interested in finding a center who can stretch the floor. The Knicks have multiple ways to match Turner’s $17.5MM salary, Begley notes, and Mitchell Robinson, Nerlens Noel or Taj Gibson would likely be included in any deal.
Tom Thibodeau’s search for lineup solutions will be much easier if RJ Barrett continues to shoot the way he did in Tuesday’s win over the Spurs, per Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. Barrett broke out of a 13-game shooting slump with a 32-point night while going 7-of-8 from beyond the arc. “I was down for a couple of weeks, but I’m feeling better now,” Barrett said. “It was good to get back in the gym, it was great and to have a game like today. Hopefully that can carry on for (Wednesday).”

Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Sixers, Barrett, Thibs

December 5th, 2021 at 3:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Raptors forward Pascal Siakam continues to struggle through foul trouble, writes Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star. As NBA referees across the league strive to limit calling fouls against “non-basketball” offensive flop plays, looks at the charity stripe in general are taking a significant dive. Siakam, however, continues to be whistled for fouls. The 2020 All-Star has averaged a career-worst 3.5 fouls per contest across 12 games this season and has already fouled out of two games.

“We can’t go through this (foul trouble) every night like this,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said of Siakam. “It seems to me he’s just getting himself just a half-count late on some stuff.”

Siakam himself appears to be trying to be more sensitive to fouls called against him as the year progresses for the 10-13 Raptors. “If I’m going to have a foul I would rather it be an actual foul preventing someone from scoring or a foul I actually want to give,” Siakam noted. “Just staying away from the cheap ones and hopefully the gods will be on my side one of these days and I won’t foul out.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Determining a reasonable expectation for this strange Sixers season is proving difficult, opines Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The team has been felled by various injuries, extended COVID-19 absences, and of course the continuing Ben Simmons drama. Philadelphia is currently 12-11, good for the ninth seed in the East.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau sounded optimistic when addressing the recent shooting slump of RJ Barrett, per Ian Begley and Phillip Martinez of SNY.tv. “I have a lot of confidence in [Barrett] being able to work his way out of it,” Thibodeau said after Saturday’s game. “When you throw in he’s been sick, and to me you get rhythm when you work. Last year, he got going when he started coming in every night to shoot. So there’s no notion that you (work on your shot in the gym at night) sometimes, you got to do it all the time. So get back in the gym, get back to grooving your shot. Shoot a lot of threes and you’ll start making more.” The 21-year-old Barrett is connecting on just 39.6% of his field goal attempts in his third NBA season.
Thibodeau has opted to give the slumping Knicks, losers of three straight, a day off to regroup, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. “[Who] we are as a team, how we built this team and this culture is just fighting defensively, the togetherness, just the effort, the hustle plays,” reflected New York forward Julius Randle of the club’s ethos. “And I think sometimes, we’re too lax. We might think the little details don’t matter sometimes or whatever it is, but we’ve just got to understand to get out of this we’ve got to do it together.” The Knicks are currently 11-12 on the young 2021/22 season.

Knicks Notes: Walker, Barrett, Randle, Fournier

December 4th, 2021 at 6:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

It sounds like Knicks guard Kemba Walker won’t see regular playing time unless he reclaims his starting job, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Walker, who was pulled from the rotation earlier this week, didn’t leave the bench in this afternoon’s loss to the Nuggets, even as New York fell behind by 30 points.

“As I mentioned before when I made that decision, I view Kemba as a starter,” coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. “… I do have respect for him, he’s part of the team. And right now we have a rotation, he’s not in the rotation but he’s working in practice, he’s doing all the things he should be doing.”

Walker, who hasn’t talked to the media since his demotion, has been a disappointment this season, even at the discount price of $18MM over two years. He’s scoring 11.7 points per game, down from 19.3 PPG last season with the Celtics, and his arthritic left knee limits his effectiveness on defense.

Neither Walker nor backcourt partner Evan Fournier has lived up to what the Knicks expected when they pursued them in free agency. Multiple sources tell Bondy that Thibodeau urged the front office to keep Reggie Bullock, who signed with Dallas for $30.5MM over three years.

There’s more from New York:

Thibodeau believes RJ Barrett needs more repetition to fix his three-point shot, Bondy adds. After connecting at 40.1% from beyond the arc last season, Barrett has slumped to 32.1%. “You get rhythm when you work and last year he got going when he started coming in every night to shoot,” Thibodeau said. “So there’s no notion of, ‘OK, I’ll do it sometimes.’ No, you got to do it all the time. When you did it, you shot 40 from 3. So get back in the gym, get back to improving your shot.”
At 11-12, the Knicks are now under .500 for the first time this season, and Julius Randle believes the team has lost the defensive identity that it relied on last year, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. “It’s who we are as a team, how we built this team and this culture is just fighting defensively, the togetherness, just the effort, the hustle plays,” Randle said. “I feel like that’s what the city of New York loves. That’s what the fans love — when they know we’re out there giving it our all. And I think sometimes we’re too lax.’’
Fournier talks about Thibodeau, some of his new teammates and several other subjects in a wide-ranging interview with Steve Serby of The New York Post.

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Knicks Chemistry, Thibodeau, Tatum

November 14th, 2021 at 9:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Should disgruntled Sixers point guard Ben Simmons rejoin his Philadelphia teammates without the proper attitude, the feel-good vibes of the team’s 8-6 season start could take a hit, opines Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Simmons has yet to suit up this season, hoping for a trade out of town.

“I don’t think that’s something we thought about yet,” swingman Danny Green said of a potential Simmons-Sixers reunion this year. “We don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon. But it’s something that hasn’t really crossed our minds yet.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

With the Knicks set to play their next three contests at Madison Square Garden, Tommy Beer of Basketball News writes that they have an opportunity to improve the shaky chemistry that has led to the club going 2-4 in its last six games. Starters Julius Randle and RJ Barrett have struggled lately. Beer adds that playing at home will allow for head coach Tom Thibodeau to hold more practices than are possible on the road, which could help the Knicks kick-start their energy.
To help improve the on-court performance of the Knicks‘ starting five, head coach Tom Thibodeau opted to give his starters stricter set plays and less improvisational optionality in a productive practice today, per Marc Berman of the New York Post. “The first thing you ask [is] are we playing hard enough and executing properly?” Thibodeau said. “If what we’re doing is not good enough, that’s when you change… In all fairness to Julius [Randle] and [starting point guard Kemba Walker], because of who they are, they probably get the brunt of what’s going on. The reality is we have to play well together as a group. It’s not one, two guys. We can say new guys, old guys. We can say first unit, second unit.”
Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum is struggling through one of his worst-ever shooting stretches, prompting Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe to consider the possible cause of the issue and potential solutions. Tatum currently has a career-worst shooting line of .388/.322/.742.

Knicks Notes: Barrett, Fournier, Randle, Walker

November 13th, 2021 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau lost patience with his starting lineup Wednesday and with the theory that they need more time together to be effective. RJ Barrett, one of the holdovers from last season, agrees that the starters haven’t played well enough but believes the problems will eventually work themselves out, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.

“Everything takes time — any new team,’’ Barrett said. “No one’s going to have it right away off the bat. It takes time. We’re trying to figure out who we are if we’re going to be consistent. I think this whole team. Even though we were together last year, the guys that were here, we’re still learning each other, so we’re gonna keep growing, improving.’’

New York is 7-6, but all five starters are posting negative plus-minus ratings. Evan Fournier, who was added in free agency over the summer, believes the offense has gotten “very stagnant” when the starting lineup is on the court together.

“We started really well, shooting the ball well, sharing the ball, et cetera,” he said. “Now it’s not as good. So are we playing not as well because we are missing shots or are we missing shots because we aren’t sharing the ball.’’

There’s more from New York:

The Knicks aren’t getting their money’s worth from Fournier so far, Berman states in a separate story. They signed him for $78MM over four years, but Thibodeau appears to have lost confidence in him late in games. Berman points out that Fournier has been benched for the final 14 minutes of the last two contests, both losses, and he isn’t providing the clutch shots or hustle on defense that the team needs.
Another issue is a lack of chemistry between new point guard Kemba Walker and Julius Randle, Berman adds. Both players are used to controlling the ball, and a scout tells Berman that Randle “pouts” when he feels he doesn’t have it enough. Berman notes that Randle, who had five turnovers in Friday’s loss to the Hornets, is starting to revert to iso-ball habits. “I definitely think there’s games where we’re being outworked, outrebounded,’’ Randle said. “Our identity’s not our defensive end (like) how it has been. But we know that. We know we got to fix it. We just got to keep working at it, just keep coming together and stay together.’’
Sopan Deb of The New York Times examines what has gone wrong with the Knicks’ defense, which was the core of the team’s identity last season.

Knicks’ Thibodeau On Starters’ Struggles: “We’ve Gotta Figure It Out”

November 11th, 2021 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau benched his starters for the final 14 minutes of the team’s loss to the Bucks on Wednesday, as ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes. After the game, Thibodeau said the five-man group – Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson – “just didn’t play well,” adding that “we’ve gotta figure it out.”

The Knicks’ starters were especially ineffective on Wednesday — Robinson was minus-15 during his minutes, while the other four starters were minus-22 or worse.

However, their struggles weren’t just a a one-game aberration. The Knicks’ starting five, which has been the most-used lineup in the NBA this season, has an abysmal -14.4 net rating (including a 119.3 defensive rating) in 205 total minutes. That’s the second-worst net rating of any NBA lineup that has logged more than 80 minutes so far in 2021/22.

Thibodeau isn’t buying that the group just needs more time to develop chemistry, according to Bontemps.

“You know what they say: When it’s 10 games, they say you need 20,” Thibodeau said. “When you say 20, they say you need 30; at 30, you say 40. And before you know it, the season is over. So that’s a bunch of bulls–t.”

The Knicks’ bench, led by Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, and Taj Gibson, has been productive this season and has been a key factor in the team’s 7-5 start. It’s possible moving one of those players into the starting lineup could help jump-start that group and shore up the defense, but Thibodeau may prefer not to make such a move when the reserves are playing so well in their current roles.

Knicks Notes: Quickley, Barrett, Walker

November 7th, 2021 at 6:29pm CST by JD Shaw

Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley is working to avoid a sophomore slump, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Quickley has struggled through the team’s first nine games, averaging 5.7 points on just 30% shooting from the floor and 23% from deep.

“I don’t think it’s really a slump,” Quickley said. “I haven’t made some shots but it’s a long season. It’s not a 10-game season. It’s an 82-game season. I just continue to stay in the gym, work hard, trust God and I’ll keep my confidence high.”

As a rookie last season, Quickley averaged an impressive 11.4 points on 39% from three-point range. The 22-year-old is confident that he’ll find his stroke in due time.

“It’s an 82-game season,” Quickley said. “I’m not too worried about it. That just means I’ll play great the rest of the season if I’m not playing great right now. They just told me to be myself, which means have confidence, play hard and keep your energy on the floor. That’s what I continue to do.”

Here are some other notes out of New York:

RJ Barrett is becoming the team’s iron man due to his physical and mental toughness, Berman writes in a separate article for the New York Post. Barrett has played an average of 35.3 minutes this season, coming off a campaign where he scored 17.6 points in 34.9 minutes per contest. Head coach Tom Thibodeau is known for liking durable players who can play for long stretches, something Barrett has grown accustomed to doing.
Barrett praised teammate Kemba Walker during a wide-ranging interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post, explaining that the veteran point guard brings a palpable energy to the club. “He’s a great person, he’s a great human being overall. We all really get along with him,” Barrett said of Walker. “He’s really not about himself, he really wants the whole team succeeding, no matter who it is, no matter who scores or whatever, he’s cheering the loudest. That’s great to know.” Walker signed with the Knicks in free agency this past summer.

Knicks Notes: Barrett, Walker, Fournier, Robinson

October 31st, 2021 at 11:56am CST by Arthur Hill

Zion Williamson was the top prize in the 2019 draft, but the Knicks should be grateful they wound up with RJ Barrett instead, writes Adam Zagoria of Forbes. Williamson, who is recovering from offseason foot surgery, watched Saturday night as his former college teammate scored a career-high 35 points in New York’s victory over the Pelicans. Forbes notes that in their two-plus seasons in the NBA, Barrett has played in 134 games compared to Williamson’s 85.

“I saw him after the game,’’ Barrett said, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. “He just said he was happy for me, stuff like that. But it’s cool. I can’t wait till he gets back out there on the court. It’s cool to just see him there, we don’t see each other often anymore because of the schedules.’’

There’s more from New York:

Kemba Walker is playing without the knee pain that limited him to 43 games last season, Berman details in a separate story. While Walker can’t beat defenders to the rim like he used to, he seems to have regained his shooting touch, connecting on 50% of his attempts from the field through six games after hitting just 42% a year ago. “This is the best I’ve felt in a very long time,’’ he said. “My days consist of me taking care of myself. I don’t mean that when I’m in the facility with the trainers. I mean that when I’m home. When I’m in my room, I’m taking care of my knee. That’s like my whole day. There’s a lot of preparation leading up to these games for me.’’
The Knicks are fans of the NBA’s emphasis on not calling fouls on defensive players when shooters jump into them, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. While some teams have struggled to adapt, Evan Fournier believes the league is moving in the right direction. “It was actually very frustrating for me. For years — I don’t like to compare anything — but coming from Europe we have guys that aren’t as physical, aren’t as athletic, and yet the game is more physical there,” Fournier said. “So as a rookie, I kept fouling and fouling and fouling. And I was like, ‘What the hell?’ I’m skinny. I’m not that strong. And I think the league did a great job. We have to adjust. As a fan, I think it’s better. You don’t want to see guys trying to trick referees all the time.”
Mitchell Robinson had two serious injuries last season, so he understands what Bulls forward Patrick Williams is going through, Bondy adds in a separate piece. Williams suffered torn ligaments in his left wrist after Robinson’s flagrant foul this week, and Robinson felt the need to defend himself against accusations on social media. “I was just reading stuff and people trying to make it seem like it was something that it’s not, which that’s what people want to do,” Robinson said. “I went down myself. I know the pain. I know what it is. So when somebody goes down, I feel what they feel. I went through two injuries back-to-back. That’s the worst feeling in the world.”

Knicks Notes: Barrett, Kemba, Thibs, Culture

October 26th, 2021 at 10:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

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.