RJ Barrett kicked off the new season on fire with his first nine shots from the floor, including all three of his three-point tries, in the Knicks’ opening loss in Indiana.
Tom Thibodeau’s team will return to that location Saturday night, and Barrett will try to rediscover that shooting after his percentages drop dramatically in the four-plus games since then.
The sophomore guard was hardly the only unsuccessful culprit in Thursday’s 100-83 loss against Toronto in Tampa. The Knicks ended a wretched 3-for-36 long range against the Raptors, including an NBA record of 23 consecutive misses without one being made by the first five.
Barrett, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Duke, has taken just 26.3 percent (19-for-72) from the field since his blistering start on December 23 against the Pacers. He has also made 21 consecutive attempts from outside the three-point arc.
In fact, Barrett (0-for-8) and entry-level petty forward Reggie Bullock (0-for-9) became the first teammates in NBA history to each go 0-for-8 or worse from a three-point range in the same game. .
Barrett was not made available to the media after Thursday’s game and the Knicks (2-3) did not practice or make anyone available on New Years Day prior to Saturday’s visit to Indiana.
Thibodeau had said earlier this week that Barrett was “great” and “playing an all-round game” in back-to-back victories against Milwaukee and Cleveland. Despite his poor shooting numbers, 20-year-old Barrett scores an average of 15.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in five games.
“He played well without shooting well. We know the shooting is coming, ”Thibodeau said Wednesday. “He does a lot defensively for us and moves well without the ball. He’s going downhill.
“There is a lot of room for him to grow. He has been diligent in his work. He just has a wing to do things he can, his versatility is a great asset to the team and his willingness to play for people. “
Thibodeau said after Thursday’s loss that he wanted to watch the game film before directly commenting on Barrett’s and the team’s poor shooting game, especially as the Knicks entered the lead of the league at a 3-point rate (45.9%) .
“I think when teams play in zone you will get a lot of open looks, but we will look at it,” said Thibodeau. “It’s the right game. To me it’s like you get the right game, when you get the move, when you force the defense to collapse, you kick him out, and if one of your shooters is open, that’s everything I pass by.
“So if a man is wide open, there’s no one within a meter and a half, you have to shoot it.”
Even with his team firing blanks, Thibodeau noted that the Knicks were seven points ahead in Thursday’s third quarter – and they were still within three with less than nine minutes remaining in the fourth – due to their defensive effort. The Knicks have allowed 105.2 points per game, the fifth lowest in the NBA.
‘You always think you can do better. [Toronto] did not shoot a large percentage. If you keep such a team to 100 points, you should have a chance of winning it, ”said Thibodeau. “If we had made it to a pair of our three, we probably would have had a good chance of winning.
“Our defense is something we have to keep working on – ball control, ball pressure. We are not perfect. I guess if we make the effort we fly around putting pressure on the ball and our weak side knows we can hide [our] errors. “