P&T Player of the Week for November 5 - 12: RJ Barrett

Finally, some good news to share!

After a sluggish start to the season, the New York Knicks seem to have gotten back on course. The team turned in a fantastic week, posting victories against the Clippers, Spurs, and Hornets, respectively. The offense finally started to click, and as a result, shooting splits improved dramatically. A strong 111-point output against the Clippers spoiled the debut of James Harden, who recently became the punching bag of the media (see Brian Dameris rant). The point being, the Knicks looked good and picked up their first home win of the season.

Two days later, the Knicks exploded for 126 points, this time playing spoiler to Victor Wembanyama’s first MSG appearance. The squad shot 19-for-42 from deep en route to their first true wire-to-wire victory of the season. Finally, in a Sunday matinee at the Garden, the team one-upped themselves yet again. The team shot 54 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep, putting up a 129 spot. Wow.

This week was truly a step forward for the entire team. Julius Randle finally turned in some relatively efficient performances from the field. Jalen Brunson continued to hit tough shot after tough shot. Mitchell Robinson furthered his bid as one of the league’s premiere rebounders. The bench mob turned in some incredible performances as well, as Quickley continues to wow in a sixth-man role.

Despite all this, the road to a championship is always a winded one. For the Knicks, one player had to make a jump to even begin thinking about a bid at a trophy. RJ Barrett. And man, has he delivered so far this season.

After an impressive 4 game start to the season, Barrett missed 2 games in a row with a knee injury. He returned on Monday. Could he shake off the injury rust and regain his form?

RJ Barrett’s game log this week:

vs. LAC: 26 points (9-16 FG, 2-4 3PT), 6 rebounds, 4 assists

vs. SA: 24 points (8-17 FG, 5-9 3PT), 2 rebounds, 6 assists

vs. CHA: 24 points (9-16 FG, 4-6 3PT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists

Woah. That’s a yes.

The offensive efficiency is way up. The three point stroke looks to be calibrated correctly. His defense has looked as solid as ever. And most impressive? The consistency. Game in and game out, RJ Barrett has delivered. Yes, there’s a long season ahead of us. But if this version of RJ shows up the majority of the time, the Knicks will be a true force to be reckoned with.

Clear your schedules this week. The Knicks play five (5) times in seven days, including yesterday’s tussle with Charlotte. Let’s keep the good vibes rolling.