RJ Barrett is not ready to be the franchise player for the Knicks

Since the New Year, New York Knicks’ wing RJ Barrett has taken his season to another level. Barrett has averaged 23.8 points per game since January 1 in 23 appearances.

Barrett has increased his production by 58.7 percent, as he only averaged 15 points per game prior to the New Year in 29 outings. His statistical improvement is related to his shot location. In the first half of the season (2021), Barrett took 40.3 percent of his shots from behind the arc, averaging 5.4 threes per game.

RJ Barrett has improved but shouldn’t be deemed the franchise player of the New York Knicks yet

Barrett’s shot location before the New Year put him in a position where he couldn’t reach his full potential, as he has been an inconsistent three-point shooter. The youngster made less than 30.8 percent of his attempts during his lone collegiate season at Duke, averaging 6.2 attempts per game.

During his first season in the professional ranks, he did not improve in that area, only shooting 32.0 percent on 3.5 attempts per game. However, during his second season, Barrett made a massive leap in that area, shooting 40.1 percent from behind the arc on 4.3 shots per game.

Unfortunately, Barrett couldn’t maintain that production level early on in his third season, as he only converted 32.5 percent of his threes on 5.4 attempts per game before the New Year. Fortunately, his season started to turn around when Julius Randle had to miss three games due to health and safety protocols.

These protocols forced the Knicks to make RJ Barrett the primary ball-handler while Randle was sidelined. Barrett has touched the ball 60.9 times per game since the New Year – a 44 percent increase from before 2022. The increase in touches allowed Barrett to drive to the basket with greater frequency.

Barrett has averaged 15.6 drives per game since the New Year – a 90.2 percent increase since that date. The increase in drives contributed to Barrett taking more shots in the restricted area as he has averaged 7.0 shots per game. Barrett’s restricted area shot attempts have gone up by 45.8 percent.

The restricted area is where Barrett has been most efficient throughout his basketball journey. Barrett made 64.4 percent of his restricted area shots at Duke University on 7.1 attempts per game. He has continued to excel as a professional, shooting over 55 percent in the restricted area.

More importantly, threes only account for 32 percent of his shots averaging 6.2 per game. Barrett’s shot location change has led to an increase in production, as well as praise from people around the NBA.

Miami Heat star, Jimmy Butler, said that Barrett would be the face of the New York Knicks after Barrett scored 46 points against the Heat on February 25. Barrett shot 59.1 percent from the field in that game on 22 shots.

Although the praise for Barrett is well-deserved, he shouldn’t be called the face of the franchise just yet, largely because he has been an inefficient player during this stretch. Barrett has shot 42.2 percent from the field since the beginning of 2022 on over19 shots per game. His field goal percentage ranked in the bottom ten among players who have averaged 15 shots per game in that time span.

Consequently, if Barrett were the number one option for the team during an entire season, it decreases the likelihood that the Knicks will be successful because he would have to put up a significant number of shots to generate ample production.

The team would be better off evaluating Barrett for at least another season to see if he can improve his efficiency, which would lift the team’s floor. If Barrett is unable to improve his efficiency, the Knicks would be better off trading him while his value is at an all-time high in order to allow them to recoup as many assets as possible.