New York Knicks 2021-22 Report Card: Forwards

Earlier this week, I handed out grades for the New York Knicks' guards based on their performance this past season. In this installment of the Knicks' 2021-22 report card, I will focus on the team's wings and forwards.

RJ Barrett:

Based on his traditional counting stats, Barrett took a significant step forward in his third pro campaign. In his age-21 season, Barrett finished the year averaging 20.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 made three-pointers per game. He took his game to another level in the second half of the season, averaging 24.5 points, nearly four dimes and over six boards a night. In the process, he became just the fifth player in NBA history to tally more than 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 200 treys before turning 22 years old. The other four players in this exclusive club are LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant, and Kobe Bryant. 

However, looking at the big picture, RJ regressed from an efficiency standpoint. After slashing 44/40/75% as a sophomore, Barrett shot below 41% from the floor, 34% from downtown and 71.4% from the charity stripe. To put those percentages in context: 32 NBA players averaged more than 17 FG attempts per game this season, and of those 32 players, Barrett was one of only two to post an eFG% below 48% this past season. (The other was his teammate, Julius Randle. Randle and Barrett were also the only two with a True Shooting percentage south of 53%.)

Defensively, the Knicks allowed 111.6 per 100 possessions with Barrett on the floor this season and just 105.4 with Barrett on the bench. To be fair, RJ spent much of his time playing alongside subpar defenders such as Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, Julius Randle etc., but that's obviously not overly encouraging. 

Grade: B