Load management? Not in New York
Canadian rookie Barrett is logging heavy minutes with Knicks but, as player and coach say, he’s only 19
New York Knicks coach David Fizdale has a lot of faith in guard RJ Barrett. The amount of floor time the prized rookie has logged so far in his first National Basketball Association season is proof of that.
Barrett, a 19-year-old from Mississauga, is averaging 37.1 minutes a game, fourth among all players heading into Tuesday’s contests. On Sunday, he played a gruelling 40 minutes, 44 seconds in the Knicks’ 113-92 loss to the host Sacramento Kings. A good chunk of those minutes came in the fourth quarter, with the game out of reach for the Knicks.
At a postgame news conference, a reporter had the temerity to ask Fizdale why Barrett was toiling on the floor during the dying minutes of a game when the result was assured. The Knicks coach did not appreciate the line of questioning.
“He’s got the day off tomorrow,” Fizdale snapped.
“We’ve got to get off this loadmanagement crap,” he continued after a long pause. “Latrell Sprewell averaged 42 minutes for a season. This kid is 19 years old. Drop it already.”
The load-management concept Fizdale mentioned refers to the recent trend of giving players time off — usually entire games — to manage their workload through a tough 82game season so they are prepared for the condensed grind of the post-season.
However, whether giving Barrett a deserved rest for the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game would have qualified as load management is debatable.
Allowing star players a breather late in games that have already been decided has been standard procedure for some time.
Barrett doesn’t seem to have a problem with his heavy workload, shrugging when reporters asked him about it following Sunday’s game.
“I’m 19,” he said with a laugh. “I’m good.”
DREAM COME TRUE: Canadian cousins Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, both 21, met in an NBA regular-season game for the first time Saturday, and Gilgeous-Alexander tweeted a picture of their jersey swap after the game. “We used to pray for times like this,” Gilgeous-Alexander posted, “and of course (Alexander-Walker) had to show off his tats. Love you kid.”
THOMPSON GUN: The Cleveland Cavaliers have been leaning on Tristan Thompson to provide more offence early this season, and so far the big man from Brampton, Ont., has obliged. While it’s only a sixgame sample size, the centreforward has been averaging 16.5 points while firing 13.7 fieldgoal attempts per game so far in this campaign. That’s well up from his career averages of 9.2 points and 7.1 attempts. He’s also getting it done on the glass.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE:
Dallas Mavericks starting centre Dwight Powell, born in Toronto, is starting to round into form after missing the first three games of the season with a left hamstring strain. The Mavs eased him back into the lineup in his return Tuesday in a win over Denver, as he finished with four points in 13:34 of action. He improved his output to 14 points in a 119-110 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
CHECKING IN: New York’s Ignas Brazdeikis made his NBA debut in Sunday’s loss to the Kings. The forward from Oakville, Ont., had four points and an assist in 4:11 of playing time ... Centre Khem Birch is in line for significant playing time with the Orlando Magic, who are easing second-year player Mo Bamba back into action as he recovers from a leg injury. The Montrealer played 22 minutes Friday against Milwaukee and is expected to split back-toback games with Bamba for the foreseeable future ... Minnesota forward Andrew Wiggins had mixed results trying to fill the void created by Karl-Anthony Towns’ two-game suspension. The Vaughan, Ont., player had 21 points, five rebounds and six assists in a 131-109 win over Washington. He followed with 25 points and two blocks in a 134-106 loss to Milwaukee.