After 10 Games, There's An Obvious (and Not-So-Obvious) New York Knicks MVP
The New York Knicks literally can't win without RJ Barrett.
New York sports are well-used to MVP debates in recent months, with most of the discussion centered around the true meaning of "Most Valuable Player," where few, if any, can truly agree on the definition of the middle initial. Some say that a player's mere accomplishments and abilities should be enough to garner consideration regardless of their team's record (i.e. Shohei Ohtani with the woebegone Los Angeles Angels) while others believe that value should linger on a personal level, directly impacting his or her team's place on the active ledgers.
While their fans have reveled in victories in the department (i.e. Aaron Judge, Breanna Stewart), the answer is far more cut-and-paste when it comes to analyzing the Knicks' personal case 10 games into an equally dangerous and intriguing season: Barrett, the Knicks' homegrown franchise face sat out of Monday's divisional tilt against the Boston Celtics, who proved to be a headache in the form of a 114-98 defeat. With the loss, New York (5-5) is winless in three Barrett-free showings as they reach the 10-game landmark.
Barrett has embarked on one of the most curious careers in modern NBA history: no one in their right mind would call him a bust. His mere prescience is a departure from those drafted ahead of him (i.e. Zion Williamson's injuries, Ja Morant's suspensions). He has established a residency in the Knicks' starting five and his youth has allowed him to set several metropolitan records: last week, for example, he usurped the late Willis Reed as the youngest scorer of 5,000 points in a New York uniform.
“One of the things I love about him is he’s 23 years old," Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. "He’s young. He’s going to keep getting better, building consistency is probably the biggest challenge. We’re seeing that now, but understand that there’s still a lot more to go into this and to improve upon, so I don’t want to put a ceiling on anything that he does. I think he can keep getting better and I think he will.”
Yet, Barrett has had trouble living up to his third pick billing, especially when his predecessors include Carmelo Anthony, Dominique Wilkins ... and Michael Jordan.
Barrett (9) earns two against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday afternoon
Wendell Cruz, USA TODAY SPORTS
Finding a New York Groove
It'd obviously be ludicrous to expect a Barrett coup of His Airness but he has undoubtedly been the propellant behind the Knicks' season to date: when Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson struggled at the onset of this season, Barrett righted the ship and kept things from further spiraling out of control over what became a 2-4 start. Entering Wednesday's 11th game of the season against Atlanta (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG), Barrett is averaging 22.6 points and 3.1 assists, both of which would stand as career-highs (along with a free throw percentage of just under 85).
Barrett is also impressing, or at least improving, in the advanced departments: it's at the literal bare minimum (0.1) but the Duke alum is posting a positive defensive box plus/minus score for the first time in his career. That's enough of a win for Barrett after a year where his defensive endeavors drew the rare wrath of the eternally optimistic Walt "Clyde" Fraizer during an MSG Network broadcast.
So what's changed for the young, potential All-Star in the making? Surely there was a turning point, an inciting incident that forced him on a journey of self-improvement, such as his closer, a brutal 1-of-10 outing from the field in the 2022-23 Knicks' swan song in Miami last spring.
But this New York movie doesn't appear to be following the three-act structure.
“I think the biggest difference is that there isn’t a difference. He’s had the same mentality and approach to every game that I’ve been his teammate,” observed Brunson, per Ian Begley of SNY. "He’s chipping away, hitting singles, hitting singles. He’s playing great.”
To go to the source itself, Barrett hinted that the ultimate solution might've simply been playing more basketball.
Whoa, Canada
Barrett's got enough of a burden with the expectations of New York basketball on his back for at least seven months. The Ontario native obviously felt like that wasn't enough, as he embraced the weight and backing of an entire country, namely Canada's, at last summer's FIBA Basketball World Cup.
As one of the most prominent representatives of True North hardwood, Barrett guided the Canadians to not only podium glory but also their first invitation to the Olympics since 2000. Barrett knew how to exit on a high note, scoring 23 points in the victorious third-place game against Brunson, Josh Hart, and the United States.
The World Cup run proved to be an extra opportunity for Barrett to not only grow as a leader but learn from mistakes: the victorious tournament stretch was a stark contrast from group play, which began with a 1-of-10 output against France.
"(I'm) not in better shape. I think my summer was a little different. I played a little bit more basketball, as opposed to basically not playing at all last year," Barrett said in Popper's report. “I got to play, make mistakes. Like in FIBA, when we played France, I was absolutely terrible. Played Brazil, I was horrible. I had four, five points, stuff like that. So, you kind of get to get some of those games out of the way. It’s easier."
"I think just my pace has been a lot better, knowing kind of when to go fast, when to slow down. I think that’s what’s helped me with my decision-making, just trying to be better. It’s not college. You can’t go 100 percent speed the whole time.”
Going by their Barrett-less record, the Knicks can certainly sympathize.
Robinson (23) has amplified his teammates' box scores this season
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Don't Ditch Mitch's Contributions
In any era of NBA basketball, it's going to be hard to fight for an MVP award when you're averaging 6.6 points a game. That's particularly true for traditional centers in league-wide playbooks that continue to increasingly favor positionless basketball, especially for the seven-foot skyscrapers who haven't been trained to work from the outside.
Mitchell Robinson, however, is making himself valuable, essential in subtle yet brilliant manners.
Again, Robinson's value comes not in contributing to the inflated scoreboards that have become commonplace in the modern Association but perhaps in a more important medium: creating the opportunities for those scores to grow. Far and away the Association's leader in offensive rebounds, Robinson continues to flirt with history in terms of second chances: while no longer at the magic mark of six a game, Robinson averages 5.8 on the season, giving him a chance to go toe-to-toe with the historic trio of Moses Malone, Dennis Rodman, and Jayson Williams.
With the Knicks drastically struggling from the field in the early going, the efforts of Robinson helped New York keep pace on the scoreboard. Through their first decalogue, the Knicks continue to rank dead-last in success rate from the field but are fifth in the Association in second chance points at 16.6 a game.
Robinson was already well-known for his defense while establishing himself as the longest-tenured Knicks and has upped that reputation further this season: while establishing a career-best tying defensive rating (104), Robinson has had an integral role in establishing New York's sterling reputation which has already allowed less than 100 points on four occasions this season after doing so 11 times all of the prior campaign.
“His defense is incredible,” Thibodeau said in another report from Popper. " (He's an) excellent pick-and-roll defender, rim protection, defensive rebounding. (He's a) multiple effort guy (who has) really come a long way. It’s been steady growth.
"I think when you look at it, to me, probably the most important statistic there is net rating. Scoring margin, net rating, tells you (the) impact on winning. So when you look at where he was four years ago to where he is today, it’s been great strides that have been made, and the impact on winning is the most important thing.”
An MVP's impact is further defined by the way he or she makes their teammates better. Robinson has done so for perhaps the Knicks' most impactful player: as Julius Randle begins to re-discover his true form after working off the aftershocks of offseason ankle surgery, he began to transition away from his newfound outside desires and work in the paint, using lanes created by Robinson screens to his advantage. Since working through the unusual pick-and-roll situation, one where Randle's role is often fulfilled by a guard rather than a primary power forward, the two-time All-Star has averaged 24.5 points a game.
“The size is out of the lane,” Randle noted in a report from Fred Katz of The Athletic. “I’m playing one-on-one downhill rather than trying to beat my guy and then trying to finish over another. I’ve always been an inside-out player and that’s how I’m more efficient. I just got to keep doing those things, keep being more efficient as the games go on.”
An MVP is decided not only by his own performance but also by those of his teammates when he's on the floor. Relatively meager scoring output notwithstanding, Robinson's subtle definitions of the term have nonetheless been brilliant.
