New York Knicks: Predicting the team’s leader in every statistical category
By Dylan Carter
RJ Barrett will take the leap and become the top scorer on the New York Knicks.
With each year of his young career, RJ Barrett has taken considerable steps forward in all facets of his game. An inside-out scorer with a crafty toolkit of moves when attacking the basket and the strength to finish through contact, the core of Barrett’s game is his finishing. From there, he’s expanded his skillset to be a threatening outside shooter with an under-the-radar pull-up game and some passing chops to match.
I’d bank on RJ Barrett making some noise in the Most Improved Player convo. Last year’s grades via @The_BBall_Index 🏀
— Dylan Hunter Carter (@DylanHCarter) October 5, 2022
Rim Shot Creation: A+
Finishing Talent: A
Playmaking Talent: A
Scoring Gravity: A
On-Ball Perimeter Defense: A-
Perimeter Shooting: B+
Star in the making 🌟 pic.twitter.com/MTwpUifunS
Although Randle has been the clear top option for the Knicks in recent years, this season is shaping up to be the right time for Barrett to take over. One of the top candidates for the 2023 Most Improved Player Award, the Canadian sensation’s archetype as a versatile scoring wing is the exact kind of player that most teams want to run through in today’s NBA. He earned the trust of coach Tom Thibodeau and is effectively becoming the face of the New York Knicks franchise.
Plus, Randle and Barrett were only separated by one-tenth of a point per game last season, and Barrett far outscored him following the All-Star break. If anything, last year’s second-half performance proved that this is already RJ’s team. So now is the time for him to formally become the lead scoring option and in turn, the team’s leader in points per game.