The New York Knicks have been mired in a slump for weeks. They'll have to try to get out of it without RJ Barrett for the foreseeable future as the third-year wing enters COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

The Athletic's Shams Charania broke the news on the Knicks star ahead of their Sunday night showdown against the Milwaukee Bucks:

RJ Barrett is the Knicks' second-leading scorer and plays a huge role in their offense while often matching up against the bigger wing assignments on defense.

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Despite many expectations that he might breakout in his third campaign, he's largely struggled this season. Barrett's scoring numbers have dropped across the board, scoring less points per game and shooting at a worse clip from the field, three-point line, and charity stripe through 25 games with the Knicks this season compared to last.

His struggles with shooting the ball have been a topic of discussion as of late, with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau subtly hinting he needs to “get back in the gym” to improve his scoring efficiency once again.

 “Last year he got going when he starting coming in every night to shoot. There’s no notion that ‘okay, I’ll do it sometimes. No, you’ve got to do it all the time. When you did it, you ended up shooting 40% from three. So get back in the gym. Get back to grooving your shot. Shoot a lot of threes and you’ll start making more.”

Perhaps RJ Barrett can use the time off the active roster to work on his shooting stroke. That seems to be the lone silver lining as the Knicks try to weather the storm after losing five of their last six contests.