The New York Knicks have started the season 0-3 and have already seen point guard Dennis Smith Jr. get booed at Madison Square Garden. There is one bright silver lining, though: the play of rookie RJ Barrett.
The Knicks got punked by the Boston Celtics on Saturday night, 118-95, but Barrett was terrific in his Madison Square Garden debut with 26 points on 9-of-20 shooting overall and 4-of-6 from 3-land. The No. 3 overall pick also had seven rebounds and three assists.
After the game, Knicks head coach David Fizdale was singing Barrett's praises:
“He's a stud, that's the only way I can put it. He's a stud,” David Fizdale said, via Coby Green of SNY.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was also impressed:
“He's really talented. I thought he was really good in the draft, I thought he was really good at Duke. He's had that reputation before he got there,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said prior to the game. “His ability to shoot the ball early on has been impressive. He's always been able to get down hill and finish. Big strong guard. The way the league is going, he can play 2-through-4. And he finished the game the other night at the point. So quite an impressive young guy.”
Barrett has done well in all three games he has played in his young NBA career. He's averaging 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 51.0% overall and 53.8% from beyond the arc. He has had some turnover issues and is shooting just 42.9% from the foul line, but overall the Knicks have to be thrilled with their prized draft choice.
New York very well could be bad again this season, but if Barrett is good, that means a lot for the future.
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