RJ Barrett is one of 4 players who’s been placed on the injury report by the Knicks ahead of their game against the Brooklyn Nets tonight.
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The New York Knicks, much like many other playoff teams in both Conferences, have had a stop-start 2021-22. This is a team that’s been waiting to take the next step to playoff relevance for a while now.
They managed to make the playoffs last year, but only won 1 game as Trae Young ran riot at MSG. Their 11-9 start to the year indicates that they have quite a way to go before they hit their form from last season.
RJ Barrett was their no. 3 pick overall from the 2019 NBA Draft. Many questioned the wisdom of their front office picking him over the likes of De’Andre Hunter, among others.
Barrett seemed to have put a stop to that talk with an impressive 2020-21 regular season campaign. However, his janky jump-shot was not reliable in the playoffs, and he’s having another streaky start thus far.
Is RJ Barrett playing tonight vs Brooklyn Nets? Knicks release injury report
Fred Katz of The Athletic reports that the 22-year-old is still questionable for their bragging rights game against crosstown rivals Brooklyn Nets, who themselves are a ways away from where they’d have envisioned themselves.
RJ Barrett is questionable for Tuesday’s game with a non-Covid illness. Also questionable are Derrick Rose, Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson.
— Barbara Barker (@meanbarb) November 29, 2021
Barrett was an iron man last year, finishing top-5 across the league in minutes played. He’s also played his fair share of minutes all through his 3rd professional season in the Big Apple.
RJ Barrett is currently averaging 14.5 points per game on ghastly shooting splits of 39.1% from the field, 32% from behind the 3-point line and 69% from the charity stripe.
The absence of Kemba Walker, who’s been removed from the rotation, could afford him a few more shots every night. It remains to be seen whether he capitalizes on the opportunity he’s been afforded.
Barrett is playing for a contract rivaling what the best youngsters from the 2018 draft class have earned.
