Despite ugly funk, Barrett vows to keep on shooting
NEW YORK — RJ Barrett came out with his fingers aflame. He connected on his first nine shots in that season opener against the Pacers, including three treys. The last 3-pointer was converted with one minute remaining in the second quarter, sending Barrett into the break perfect.
It seemed an ideal way to start a season. But nine halves later, Barrett still hasn’t hit another 3-pointer.
Heading i nto Saturday’s rematch against the Pacers, the former third overall pick has missed 21 consecutive 3-pointers. The low mark was Friday’s loss to the Raptors, when Barrett bricked all eight of his treys. Before Saturday, he was shooting 12.5% from beyond the arc.
He vowed to continue chucking.
“I’m going to keep shooting,” Barrett said. “I’m getting open shots, I just have to knock them down.”
Barrett was a top prospect in high school and college but has never been known as a strong outside shooter. With a closer 3-point line at Duke, he managed just 30.8%. So if he’s committed to a rate of 3-point attempts, it’ll require an efficiency improvement that’s not yet been witnessed in Barrett.
And to the 20-year-old’s credit, he is putting in the reps. Following Friday’s disaster against the Raptors, he spent about an hour shooting by himself on the court in Tampa Bay. Then he shot some more on New Year’s Day, when the Knicks weren’t scheduled to practice.
“Just trying to get my groove, get back in it,” Barrett said.
Barrett added that he won’t adjust his form or break from his routine, however.
“You don’ t tweak anything, you just try to get back to your regular routine,” he said. “You just try to break it down and try to get to your key points. You don’t try to change anything.”
Barrett put up decent stats last season but was left off the two All-Rookie teams. He said it was bothersome and motivating. Under Tom Thibodeau, Barrett has been given the ball, the green light and heavy minutes. It hadn’t translated to efficient scoring but Barrett is averaging more assists.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse, who also serves as Barrett’s national team coach for Canada, said he’s gleaned through conversations with Barrett and his father, Rowan, that the focus is on developing into a two-way player. Defensively, Barrett seems just as committed as last season but also probably isn’t quick enough — or athletic enough — to join the elite. Offensively, he’s comfortable with the ball and can create for his teammates.
“He’s certainly getting a high volume of chances. He has the ball a lot,” Nurse said. “They put him on the right wing a lot. They bring him on the right side of the floor a lot. He tries to turn the corner and does turn the corner quite a bit going left. And the biggest thing he sees is he’s a pretty good playmaker as far as unselfishness. He’s constantly throwing that late lob up at the rim when he’s driving. You think he’s going to shoot and the next thing you know it’s a good lob pass. He fires it pretty hard to the corner 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.”
He also clearly wants to be a shooter but that remains an elusive goal.