The New York Knicks just keep on rolling. They were able to get past the .500 mark (20-19) on Saturday as they travelled to Oklahoma City to face Luguentz Dort and the Thunder, who were without their star man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Final score in a blowout, 119–97.
The win was in large part thanks to Toronto’s very own RJ Barrett. who dropped a career-high 32 points, on 12/21 shooting. The former Duke Blue Devil and 3rd overall pick in 2019 also registered five rebounds and three assists. Overall a terrific performance by the Canadian, who was accompanied in his stellar showing by first-time All-star teammate Julius Randle. who finished with a triple double on Saturday afternoon (26, 12 and 12.)
Barrett has been playing at an impressive level during his sophomore year in the NBA. Especially when you consider the fact that he, like so many others across the association, did not play professional basketball for practically eight months since the Knicks did not make the Bubble in Orlando.
So far this campaign, Barrett has been averaging better numbers than his first year in virtually every category: most notably perhaps, he is scoring 16.7 PPG on practically 45% from the hardwood. This just goes to show how important it is for any player to be on a winning roster and how much time it can take to truly adapt to a certain team. Barrett has done just that, and it is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what he is capable of at the highest level.
