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Barrett impresses in preseason, especially from charity stripe
Now that was a preseason befitting the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft.
Everything RJ Barrett worked on during his long pandemic offseason has paid off, especially with a graceful performance from the free-throw line, where he hit 86.7 percent of his tries in four preseason games. It’s a dramatic rise from last season’s bleak 61.4 percent.
“I just got a lot of reps in,’’ Barrett said Sunday on a Zoom call. “It’s definitely something that bothered me from last season. I got a lot of reps. I haven’t done anything yet. I got to continue to be consistent.”
Inefficiency was Barrett’s blemish as a highly touted rookie, and it cost him a spot on the league’s two all-rookie teams.
Now he’s on fire. Though Barrett still is struggling from the 3-point line, he was smooth on mid-range jumpers (3 of 5) and a terror in using his strong body to get to the basket and finishing.
Barrett was 17 of 24 (70 percent) around the rim. Last season his bythe-rim percentage was in the low 50s.
“He gets to the paint and has confidence,’’ one NBA scout said. “Those crafty lefties make it look easy.’’
After working with his trainer in Southern California, Barrett said he’s tinkered with shot technique, moving his right hand more to the side of the ball to get a more fluid release.
“I was working with Drew Hanlen over the summer, we changed it up a little bit, tweaked a couple of things,’’ Barrett said. “It’s been good so far. We’ve just got to keep working on it, get reps.”
There were rumblings the Knicks’ previous coaching staff was concerned that Barrett, who wore a pink suit on draft night, was too Hollywood and not enough of a gym rat as a rookie.
There’s a new Kith/Knicks digital advertisement showing Barrett working on his shooting in a latenight session with a security guard falling asleep while waiting for the workout to end. It’s not fictional.
Asked the best part of Barrett’s preseason, coach Tom Thibodeau said, “Probably the way he practiced. He set a great example for everyone. If he continues to work that way he’ll continue to improve.”
According to sources, the Knicks coaching staff has a new vision for Barrett, turning him more into a small forward than shooting guard so as to give him less early-possession ballhandling responsibilities.
Former coach David Fizdale, stunningly, gave Barrett the opening-night start at point guard last season and it backfired.
That won’t happen Wednesday in Indiana. Alec Burks or Reggie Bullock can play alongside Barrett as the shooting guard.
New guards coach Johnnie Bryant, who turned Donovan Mitchell into a superstar, has made an impact on Barrett, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
“I just thought his rim reads were terrific,’’ Thibodeau said. “His allround play. His ball pressure [on defense] got a lot better as time went on. Offensively he scored a number of different ways — transition, cutting without the ball, off the dribble, catch and shoot.’’
Barrett played the third-most preseason minutes in the league and averaged 17.8 points His shooting percentage was 50.8.
With the 2021 free-agency class drying up, Barrett is the likeliest in-house candidate to emerge as an All-Star one day.
“I always set goals for myself, but I’ll keep that to myself ’’ Barrett said. “I’m feeling good about the season, really good. We got a hard-working group and hardworking coaches. I’m excited to see what this group will do this year.’’
His 3-point shot is still a major work in progress. He was 2 of 16 in the preseason. Perhaps because he’s so tough to stop on his attacking drives thanks to his left-handedness, that deficiency won’t stop his career in its tracks. But it could be a problem.
Bryan Ohringer, the former Wizards, Raptors, Hawks scout, was critical in his recent Knicks video scouting report for his scouting YouTube channel, showed a series of those bricks — and airballs — in the Detroit preseason games.
“He doesn’t seem like a very pure shooter,’’ Oringher said. “He doesn’t have great natural touch. They say shooters aren’t born. They’re made. I don’t buy that. It’s a little natural.’’