The Knicks didn’t make their first three-pointer in this game until halfway through the third quarter when RJ Barrett (of all people) hit one. It wasn’t the most pathetic streak of misses by any stretch, just ten misses in a row to start the game, but it’s just one of many indicators that this Knicks team is not going anywhere as currently constructed and could never have gone anywhere unless every player played like the best version of themselves at all times. The Knicks ended up going 4-of-25 from three for the game.
The crazy thing is that the Knicks actually went fourteen minutes straight without attempting a three. So they know they suck at them and didn’t even try to shoot them for that long stretch of time, which is both good and bad. It’s good because nobody is wasting possessions by taking three-pointers that probably aren’t going to gin. It’s bad because, with nobody being a threat to even try to shoot, the paint is gonna get clogged to all heck, and that’s not good when everybody on your team would rather score in the paint than take a jumpshot. I bet, during those fourteen minutes, fans were begging Randle to shoot a three.
Given the Knicks’ absolutely woeful spacing, it’s not fair to make too many judgements of RJ Barrett too early in his career. I would want to see a better-fitting cast of players around him before I labeled him “bum-ass bust trash” or “G-League-bound booty sauce” or “Corey Maggette 0.8”. Unfortunately, I don’t know if the Knicks are ever going to be the team that is intelligently built with well-fitting players.