Friday night was the apex, an evening when almost every shot RJ Barrett tossed up went in.
He took 20 shots and made 14 of them. He hit all six of his 3-point attempts. He finished the night with an incredibly efficient 44 points.
But that offensive outburst didn’t come out of nowhere. It had been building for weeks for Barrett. The brutal first month of the season, when opponents left the Knicks’ young wing wide open from beyond the arc and he struggled to finish off his drives in the paint, seems like an ancient memory now.
“Scored 40, it’s hard to not feel that,” he said Saturday, when asked about his recent hot stretch, a day after his outburst in a 118-117 loss to the Bulls. “That’s also a game where I took shots I was comfortable with, so it didn’t feel out of the ordinary. Just made more that night. I took shots I’m comfortable with, shots I work on. Teammates were finding me.”
Over the last 15 games, the 22-year-old Barrett is averaging 22.9 points and 3.1 assists, shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range and has a net rating of 9.2, numbers that dwarf those from his first 18 games.
In improving his jumper, Barrett has focused intently on his mechanics, trying to replicate his form on every shot as if he were practicing it on his own in an empty gym. The recent trend has been similar to his previous three years in the league, when he started slowly, but turned a corner and didn’t look back.
Part of Barrett’s innate ability to shrug off early season woes is his even-keeled approach. He doesn’t panic when shots don’t fall. His temperament is usually the same, whether he has just produced a breakout performance or hasn’t been able to throw the ball into the ocean.
Read Related Also: Massive aquarium that exploded in German hotel lobby was a 'ticking time bomb', says expert
“I know how much I put into this game since I was young. I’ve been very disciplined. I did have my dad who was a professional, so he was able to teach me things,” Barrett said of his father, Rowan, who played for St. John’s and is now the general manager of the Canadian National Team. “I kind of feel like I’ve been a professional for a while.
“So the work I put into the game, I know the results will show itself. As well as I know that the team believes in me and I’m going to be put in positions to . I’m going to get the minutes.”
Barrett admitted as recently as last season that he struggled with getting too down after an off-game or too high after coming through in the clutch. He was too happy after going off for 30 points one night last season, and followed it up with a dud.
“So the next time I had 30, I was locked in even more and I had 30 the next night,” he said. “Kind of learning and growing, and seeing things like that, staying even-keeled and staying with your work, is the most important part.”
Tom Thibodeau compared it to someone punching the clock every day for work. The Knicks’ coach knows Barrett is going to put in extra time, so he doesn’t get worried by his struggles, either. He knows how important succeeding is to Barrett by what he does, not by what he says.
“I have a lot of confidence in his ability just by the way he approaches things,” Thibodeau said.
Barrett’s mature mindset has served him well this season. He didn’t let criticism beat him down and he’s doing his best not to allow the praise that is now coming his way to distract him. That’s not to say he’s not pleased with his current path. He’s just not satisfied.
“It feels good. But it would feel better if we got some wins [in the last two games],” Barrett said. “It’s kind of bittersweet right now.”
