Canadian RJ Barrett Has Shown Signs of Progress Amid Shooting Slump
New York Knicks sophomore RJ Barrett still has a way to go as an NBA player. He still hasn't found his footing as a shooter and he remains highly inefficient, shooting just 34.6% from the field and 12.5% from 3-point range. It has been a rough start for the Canadian wing. But there are some reasons for optimism, according to Raptors coach Nick Nurse who doubles as the Canadian men's basketball coach.
"The biggest thing I see is he's a pretty good playmaker as far as unselfishness," Nurse said. "He's constantly throwing that late lob up at the rim as he's driving and you think he's gonna shoot and next thing it's a good lob pass. He fires it pretty hard out to the corner, too, if that's the right play to make. And he seems to really want to be that kind of player, where he's a playmaker trying to make the right play."
He showed a bit of that Thursday night against the Raptors, finishing with three assists including two nifty bounce passes for buckets.
There have been some promising improvements on the other side of the ball as well, Nurse said. Barrett has improved his Defensive Rating from last season, albeit through just five games.
"I think what he’s trying to do, rightly so is become a good all-around player, two-way player," Nurse said. "I think he’s improving certainly in his desire at the defensive end and what he’s doing both on the ball and off the ball at that end of the floor which I think invaluable for such a young guy, young player to do. I think from the times I’ve been around RJ and obviously his father that’s one thing they want to do, be an all-around, two-way player and it looks like he’s heading in the right direction."
Any major improvements from Barrett are going to have to come in the scoring department. He's still working on finding the right shot, but it's early in the 20-year-old's career and any step forward is worth monitoring.
