If you ask people with the Knicks about RJ Barrett, you may hear different opinions about his shot or his defense. But no matter who you ask, there’s one thing you always hear about the 22-year-old: he has a remarkably steady demeanor.
“Not too high, not too low,” Jalen Brunson says.
That theory was tested over the past seven days. Barrett struggled on offense in the first two games of the Knicks’ series against Cleveland.
He was a combined 6-for-25 from the field (1-for-8 from beyond the arc). He played solid defense in Game 1 and ended up with a team-high six assists and four steals in the win. But he didn’t fill out the box score in the same way in Game 2 and he missed nine of his 13 shots.
Fair or not, the narrative around Barrett’s postseason play was heading to a dark place.
And then Game 3 happened.
Barrett was phenomenal throughout the Knicks’ win over Cleveland on Friday night. And you can make an argument that New York doesn’t win the game without Barrett’s strong first 15 minutes.
Barrett started the game 5-for-8 with 12 points early in the second quarter. He had five rebounds and a steal in that span. The other Knick starters were a combined 2-for-17 (1-for-8 from beyond the arc.) New York led Cleveland by two when Barrett made a driving layup three minutes into the second quarter. Without Barrett, those first 15 minutes might have been much different.
So in a sense, Barrett saved the game on a must-win night for New York. He finished with 19 points, eight rebounds (two offensive) and three assists. And he calmed a Knick fan base that seemed concerned about the No. 3 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
“The thing about RJ is he’s very steady. He doesn’t get rattled,” Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “And I thought he was real aggressive today. We gotta get him into the open floor. When we do that, he’s gonna make shots. [When] he gets downhill, he’s tough to guard.”
Barrett was decisive with the ball in transition and in the halfcourt in Game 3.
“Felt good to be able to contribute in a positive way,” he said after the game.
Maybe another young athlete in New York would have struggled under the bright lights of the Garden. This was arguably the biggest home game since the turn of the century. If the Knicks lost on Friday, the pressure to win on Sunday in Game 4 would be immense. They needed this game.
Barrett surely knew that. And he probably heard about some of the criticism from media and fans this week. Another 22-year-old might have folded. But Barrett did the opposite. And he may have saved this Knicks season in the process.
BENCH BOUNCES BACK
The Knick bench dominated Cleveland in Game 1 but struggled in Game 2. They bounced back in a big way on Friday night, outscoring Cavs’ reserves by a count of 39-14.
“I thought we got really good minutes from Quick [Immanuel Quickley]. I thought we got good minutes from Isaiah [Hartenstein] and really good minutes from Obi [Toppin], as well. And Josh [Hart] was terrific,” Thibodeau said.
“You can’t say enough about what he brings in all aspects of the game, from offense, defense, rebounding, hustle plays, big shots, winning plays, make the right play. So, very pleased with what we got from our bench.”
Hart had 13 points and six rebounds. He knocked down both of his three-point attempts. Quickley had 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting. New York outscored Cleveland by 27 in his 23 minutes.
Some starters also bounced back from slow starts. Brunson was 1-for-5 in the first quarter and missed all three of his three-point attempts. He hit nine of his final 13 attempts and had five assists over the next three quarters.
“I think he was in an attack mode, but he didn’t force things,” Thibodeau said. “If you’re blitzing him, he’s not gonna waste a lot of energy fighting it. He’ll make the right play. He’s gonna trust his teammates to make the right play, and that’s how you win.”
Brunson and his teammates seemed to handled Cleveland’s traps much better than they did in Game 2. And their seemed to be a concerted effort from the Knicks who got into the paint to find open shooters on the perimeter.
In the first two games of the series, 34 percent of New York’s shots were three-point attempts. In Game 3 (minus garbage time), 41 percent of the Knicks’ shots came from beyond the arc. They shot poorly (10-for-33) but the volume of attempts seemed to open the floor a bit.
“Usually they were sinking [in Game 3],” Quickley said. “Before they had really been playing more like 2 on 2… they were keeping Jarrett Allen in the middle. Today, they were sinking more and the shooters were kind of open. We made shots today, so it was good.”
DEFENSE RE-EMERGES
The Knick defense was superb on Friday. They held Cleveland to 38.8 percent shooting (7-for-33 from beyond the arc).
The Cavs scored 79 points – the first team in the NBA this season to score fewer than 80.
It was a sharp contrast from Game 2 when Cleveland shot 49 percent from the floor and hit 14 of 33 3-point attempts.
“Just credit to the coaching staff,” Brunson said. “Everyone just locked in on our game plan and executed. Everyone was on the same page. Just happy we came away with the win.”
The Cavs had 20 turnovers and the Knicks scored 28 points off of those turnovers. New York limited Cleveland to just eight points off of turnovers.
Darius Garland – the star of Cleveland’s Game 2 win – missed 17 of his 21 attempts. “The defensive schemes were pretty tight,” Quickley said. “And then when we made mistakes we flew around and tried to make it tough.”
