Barrett Wants More For Himself and the Team
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Joshua Garcia
Regular season games are often overlooked in the NBA, but Sunday’s game was extremely important to the Knicks. New York entered Sunday’s matinee on a three-game skid, while the Los Angeles Clippers came off possibly their best win of the year in Philadelpihia without two-time Champion/MVP Kawhi Leonard and his sidekick Paul George.
Los Angeles looked lethargic from the tip after a 24-point comeback win against the 76ers in the last contest, and the Knicks took every bit of advantage they could. A 39-point 1st quarter of hot shooting saw New York set the tone and take a lead, one they would never relinquish.
RJ Barrett continues to pick up the slack in leadership, energy, and most importantly production while Julius Randle lives through his New York soap opera. Barrett fought off a hot Reggie Jackson for the Clippers who looked determined to grab Los Angeles another win on their annual Eastcoast Grammy trip.
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
The New York Knicks depend on RJ Barrett for success more than any other player on the roster, and in one statistical category most particularly. It’s none of the big three stats, it’s minutes played. In fact, the Knicks have lost only one game all season in which RJ Barrett was on the court for 40+ minutes.
RJ Barrett finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists against a shorthanded Los Angeles Clippers team, pulled out a much needed 110-102 win in the Garden. Said Barrett after, ”I am hungry for more. I want more for the team, but for myself as well. ‘I think that if I continue to be aggressive like I’ve been the past couple of games, like I was tonight, I think probably anything is possible.”
Tom Thibodeau needs to look to expand the workload of the 22-year-old from Duke who has shown he is the player the Knicks need to lean on in their franchises’ direction going forward as well as in the short run if they hope to grab more victories. ”I think he is gaining more experience. I think he has the confidence level that has come from his preparation. And now he has been through the league a few times, so I think he is growing every day, you see it. He is playing at a better pace which is important for us,” said the second year head coach.
This past Monday night, the Knicks traveled to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers. Veteran forward Kevin Long came off the bench to score 20 points and 4 other Cavs starters scored in double figures as Cleveland held off a late Knicks rally in the 95-93 win. RJ Barrett led all scorers with 24 points with Julius Randle adding 18. New York cut the lead to 7 going into the fourth quarter. The scrappy Knicks battled back tying the game at 90 after a Barrett basket with 2:38 left. Cleveland responded as guard Darius Garland nails a 3-pointer (94-91). Barrett sinks 2 free throws (94-93) and after Evan Mobley makes 1 of 2 free throws (95-93) New York has one last shot with 1.7 seconds left to tie or win the game. Randle’s long shot comes up short in the loss.
New York traveled to Miami this past Wednesday night before heading to Milwaukee Friday.
Sports Editor Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.
