FIBA World Cup: Knicks' RJ Barrett Remains Self-Critical Despite Success

If this is what awaits New York Knicks fans after a brutal 1-of-10 showing from RJ Barrett, they'll be more than satisfied ... even if the homegrown star isn't.

Despite an otherwise decent showcase in the NBA Playoffs (19.3 points, 4.5 rebounds over 11 showings), Barrett concluded the Knicks' recent run on a sour note, shooting 1-of-10 from the field in the Miami Heat's finishing move in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Barrett repeated the cursed statline in his first FIBA Basketball World Cup excursion for Canada last week but his teammates were able to bury it beneath a blowout win over France.

But Barrett has recovered remarkably well over the last two contests, playing a major role in Team Canada's surprising placement atop Group H: in consecutive one-sided victories, Barrett has tallied 39 total points and has sunk 61.5 percent of his attempts from the field, including a stunning 6-of-7 performance over the final 20 minutes of Tuesday's group-clinching win over Latvia. A buzzer-beating double from Barrett at the end of the first helped permanently shift momentum to the True Noth side.

The 101-75 victory, earned after falling behind by 10 after the first period, created Canada's first-ever group win in 15 World Cup appearances.

Speaking with Sportsnet's Arash Madani after the win over Latvia, Barrett was focused only on the areas where he could get better: ironically, it's the freest shots ... literal free throws ... that have been his downfall, as he missed all four tries on Tuesday. Those misfires partly prevented him from standing as the leading scorer behind tournament standout Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City).

"The last couple of games have been a lot better for me," Barrett said. "I've just trying to continue to do that. I've got to make some free throws, though."

Knicks fans are perhaps well used to Barrett's shortcomings at the foul line: last season saw him sink 74 percent of his charity tries, which placed an unconditional 11th on the New York ledger. Combined with a 2-of-4 outing against the French, Barrett is shooting a bizarre 25 percent after fouls.

But helping Canada on what's already been a historic trek is perhaps one of the best forms of prep that Barrett could've asked for as a fateful season back in New York awaits. He has served the Canadians well as a secondary yet vital offensive option, standing as perhaps the most versatile True North contributor beyond Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

"So far, he’s made my life so easy,” Team Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez, also the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings, said of Barrett to Holly MacKenzie of Team Canada's official site during the warm-up slate leading into the World Cup. “I don't have to call much for him. Here and there I do give him a play, but he just finds everything within the offense and that’s extremely valuable."

That value, Canada hopes, will be on display come second round action in Jakarta: by winning Group H, the team is situated a new quartet for a chance to get into the eight-team knockout bracket. Having already survived one of the toughest preliminary pairings (which featured two-time World Cup third-placers France), Canada must now deal with Brazil and defending champion Spain from Group G. The aforementioned Latvians, surprise runner-ups behind Team Canada, will join them to finish the four.

Barrett sees improvements necessary as Canada enters an exciting yet dangerous stretch, reasoning that the elite competition they'll face in their second-round grouping won't be as forgiving if they fall behind early.

"We've got to start better, we learned that," Barrett said. "We might not be able to afford an 11-point deficit in some of these other games. But credit to us, we stuck together. Coach challenged us and we got it done."

The next challenge lands on Friday when Canada faces Brazil in Jakarta (9:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+).