RJ Barrett Continues To Struggle As Knicks Drop Summer League Game Against The Suns

Even though it is only the NBA Summer League, New York Knicks rookie RJ Barrett has gotten off to one of the worst starts imaginable for a rookie as highly regarded as he is.

The third overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft continues to struggle shooting the ball. Against the Phoenix Suns last night, Barrett shot just 3-of-15 from the field including 1-of-5 from three-point range. Barrett also shot just 1-of-4 from the free throw line and finished with eight turnovers. Coming off a season for the Duke Blue Devils where Barrett averaged 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while finishing with first-team All-ACC honors, the stat-line by Barrett against the Suns is incredibly underwhelming.

In the Knicks’ Summer League opener against the New Orleans Pelicans, Barrett finished the game shooting an ugly 4-of-18 from the field including 1-of-8 from three-point range. Through his first two games in the Summer League, Barrett is shooting 7-of-33 (21.2%) from the field including 2-of-13 from three-point range (15.4%).

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Barrett has never been shy about shooting the ball. Last season at Duke, Barrett outshot teammate and the first overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, Zion Williamson, by 267 field goal attempts during the season (702 compared to 435). In the early stages of the Summer League, though, Barrett has looked extremely unconfident and nervous while playing. Hopefully, by the time that the NBA season rolls around in the fall, Barrett will be able to shake off these early career jitters that he has shown in Las Vegas.

“RJ’s figuring it out,’’ Knicks Summer League coach Jud Buechler said. “There’s been a ton of pressure on him, especially the hype of the first game against Zion. He did some great things, a bunch of rebounds, a defensive run. His shooting and all that will come. We’re not worried about that. We’re telling him to stay aggressive and it will come around.”