I lost track a long time ago of how many hyped college scorers came into the league and then took forever before they were any good at scoring, if they ever became good at all. It happens over and over again, and it will continue happening over and over again until the only thing that stops it is the fact that there isn’t any more college for them to score in.
So I can’t help but be impressed by R.J. Barrett’s scoring ability so far. Especially because some of his preseason performances gave me serious pause. Coming into the season, I thought he’d be just another hyped prospect who would take some time until he could score consistently on the NBA level. I also thought that the Knicks, with their roster overflowing with steady veterans, would be not one of the worst teams in the league. I was wrong on both counts.
Barrett’s percentages are looking good, even, except the one designated “FT”. That’s another thing that’s impressive. He’s not shooting 17 shots to get his 17 points. He’s only shooting 15 shots. Okay, maybe not so impressive. But still pretty good. I’m not convinced that his crazy lefty finishes are entirely sustainable, but I’m going to wait until he actually stops hitting them before calling them bad shots.
Remember, if a shot goes in, it literally cannot be termed a “bad shot”. If it was so bad, it wouldn’t have gone in.