The New York Knicks have been on an extended slide as of late, and their offensive struggles have coincided with their third-year forward, RJ Barrett, who has recently come back from a non-COVID-related illness. Despite his return to the lineup, the up-and-coming star has continued to struggle on the offensive end.
After the Knicks was beaten 113-99, the injury-ridden Denver Nuggets, where Barrett scored just 13 points on 38 percent shooting and a dismal 1-7 clip from beyond the arc, Both he and Coach Tom Thibodeau spoke on his current offensive issues.
Thibodeau believes Barrett will get out of his shooting slump like he did last year via Yahoo! Sports.
“It’s similar to last year. I have a lot of confidence in [Barrett] being able to work his way out of it,” Thibodeau said after Saturday’s game. “When you throw in, he’s been sick, and to me, you get rhythm when you work. Last year, he got going when he started coming in every night to shoot. So there’s no notion that you (work on your shot in the gym at night) sometimes, you got to do it all the time. So get back in the gym, get back to grooving your shot. Shoot a lot of threes, and you’ll start making more.”
This is a much different narrative after the praise Thibodeau showered on Barrett a little over a month ago when RJ set his career-high against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Barrett’s numbers are down across the board, with averages of just 14 points per game on 40 percent shooting compared to the 17 he averaged on 44 percent shooting from the field last season.
Barrett is not worried, however, that he will rebound via Yahoo! Sports.
“I’ve kinda figured that out now and I’ve just been working on the shots I’m going to get and certain other shots,” Barrett said. “I’ve been in shooting funks before and not too worried about it… Going back to the basics which you know works. After that, everything will figure itself out.”
Barrett will have his first chance to prove it against the Spurs on Tuesday night.
