New York Knicks small forward RJ Barrett got off to a hot start out of the gates of the 2023-24 NBA regular season. He was arguably the most efficient player in the league, as he carried over the positive momentum from his FIBA World Cup outing with Team Canada into the season with the Knicks.
The only thing that slowed down Barrett earlier in the season was some knee soreness that cost him two games, both of which New York lost. Once he returned, he picked up right where he left off, knocking down 3-pointers with incredible efficiency and stuffing the stat on a nightly basis.
Unfortunately for Barrett and the Knicks, that efficiency has disappeared. He was able to overcome the knee soreness, but a migraine that sidelined him for three games knocked him out of the incredible rhythm he had to start the season.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: RJ Barrett & New York Knicks Updates
Prior to the migraine, Barrett was shooting 50 percent from 3-point range, going 20-of-40. Since November 18th, the first night that he returned from the migraines, Barrett is the worst 3-point shooter in the NBA.
He has connected on only 25 percent of his 3-point attempts, which is the lowest amongst players with at least 50 attempts since that time. The next closest player to him is Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, who is shooting 27.9 percent from long range.
When taking a look at just his most recent sample of games, things are even uglier for Barrett. According to Tommy Breer on X, formerly Twitter, Barrett is shooting 21.3 percent from 3-point range over the last nine games, which is last place amongst players attempting 5+ 3-pointers per game.
The drop in 3-point shooting has led to Barrett’s overall efficiency cratering over that time period as well. In his first seven games of the season, he was excellent, scoring 158 points on 113 field goal attempts with a true shooting percentage of 62 percent. His plus/minus ratio over that time was +76.
In his last eight games, Barrett’s production is on the opposite end of the spectrum. He has scored 137 on 125 field goal attempts with a true shooting percentage of 47 percent. Barrett hasn’t impacted winning as much either, as he has a plus/minus ratio of -36 over that time. The stats were Breer on X.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: RJ Barrett & New York Knicks Updates
In four out of his first seven games this season, Barrett scored at least 24 points, helping keep the Knicks afloat with Jalen Brusnon and Julius Randle struggling to get on track. He has reached the 24-point plateau only once since; against the Toronto Raptors on December 11th.
It is disappointing that the Knicks haven’t been able to get their three best players clicking at the same time. Now that Randle has found his groove, Barrett has gone cold from the field, limiting the ceiling of the team in the process.
Maddeningly inconsistency has plagued Barrett throughout his career. Now in Year 5 of his NBA journey, there was hope that he would have turned the corner. Unfortunately, that has not been the case, as the migraines seem to have ruined whatever positive momentum he was building.
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