RJ Barrett Has Been Historically Inefficient on Offense and Dreadful On Defense… But Other Than That

Of the 157 players averaging at least eight FG attempts per game this season, Barrett is the only one shooting below 40% from the floor and below 27% from downtown.

The Portland Trail Blazers entered MSG Friday night riding a four-game losing streak and were without their best player, Damian Lillard, who was sidelined by a right calf strain.

The Knicks returned home from a surprisingly successful road trip earlier this week, were well rested, and were looking to get back above .500 against an undermanned opponent. And when they jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first half, it looked like New York would do just that. 

However, by the time the final horn sounded at the end of overtime, Jerami Grant had poured in a career-high 44 points, Anfernee Simons had 38 points of his own, and the Blazers had a victory.

Jalen Brunson tried to put his team on his back Friday night, tallying 32 points (on 22 FG attempts), five rebounds, four assists, and three 3-pointers. His runner with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave the Knicks a two-point lead, but he missed a short jumper in the closing seconds, allowing Portland to force overtime. 

After scoring 34 points in OKC on Monday, Brunson is the first Knicks point guard to score more than 30 points in back-to-back games since Nate Robinson in 2009. The last starting PG with 30+ in consecutive contests was Stephon Marbury. 

If we're looking for culprits in Friday's loss to the Blazers, we have to start with RJ Barrett, who remains mired in a gnarly shooting slump. RJ was 6-of-22 from the field on Friday and is just 36-for-114 (31.6%) in his last seven games. Despite hitting three of his four 3PT attempts vs. OKC, Barrett is shooting below 17% from downtown during this seven-game stretch. He also has nearly as many turnovers (17) as assists (20).

Over the past two weeks, Barrett has scored 107 points on 114 FG attempts. The Knicks have been outscored by 66 points in the 236 minutes he's been on the court. 

If it were just one short stretch, that would be one thing. But looking at the season as a whole, the numbers are gruesome. 

This season, RJ is shooting career-lows from the floor (39.4%) and from behind the arc (26.4%).

One hundred fifty-seven players are averaging at least eight FG attempts per game this season. Barrett is the only one of those 157 shooting below 40% from the floor and below 27% from downtown.