New York Knicks: 3 reasons RJ Barrett will thrive under Tom Thibodeau

1. Barrett is going to play a lot

David Fizdale came under fire after playing Barrett 41 minutes in a blowout November loss to the Sacramento Kings. Fizdale denounced load management as crap, noted that Barrett was 19 and ex-Knick Latrell Sprewell once averaged 42 minutes per game in a season.

Barrett’s minutes were a topic of conversation for several weeks. Next season, people are going to watch his minutes like a hawk. But it won’t matter. If Barrett is healthy, he will probably lead the team in minutes. But what if that’s a good thing?

I’m not saying I want Thibodeau to have RJ Barrett playing Sprewell minutes next season. But it feels like we are always complaining about the latest young Knicks player to not get enough minutes or shots. With Thibodeau as the coach, finding opportunities won’t be a problem.

Sure, Thibodeau is notorious for playing his starters heavy minutes. This dates back to his time in Chicago, but it was especially true in Minnesota where his lack of faith in his bench became a detriment to the team.

During his lone season at Duke, only two players in the entire NCAA logged more minutes than Barrett. He was third among all rookies in minutes played and logged 35 minutes or more 17 times this season. Surprisingly, Barrett’s shooting percentages went up the more minutes he played.

Barrett has proven he can handle playing heavy minutes if he needs to, much to the benefit of his development.