RJ Barrett, Knicks rack up assists against Hawks
RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks drives against Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks during the first quarter at State Farm Arena on October 27, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Credit: Getty Images
NEW ORLEANS — Ask Tom Thibodeau almost any question — it could be about Jalen Brunson’s shooting or even the weather — and he repeatedly will say, “Let the game tell you what to do.’’ But no matter what the game may have indicated, RJ Barrett has heard it whispering, “Get to the rim and score!”
But on Friday night in Atlanta, as the Knicks got their first win of the season, there was something different. Barrett scored 26 points, which the Knicks needed, and continued to be their most reliable offensive scorer. But he also had six assists.
The Knicks piled up 30 assists on 43 baskets, including a team-high nine for Julius Randle, six for Immanuel Quickley and five for Brunson.
“I’m just playing basketball,” Barrett said. “I don’t know. How many turnovers did I have? Three, four? I’ve got to clean those up. Six assists, so guys made shots. That’s truly what it was.”
Maybe, but it seemed like something more. Five of the assists for Barrett came in the second quarter, but it wasn’t the number of them as much as it was the vision and willingness that almost every one of them included.
Appearing ready to pull the trigger on a three-pointer from the left corner, Barrett instead slipped a bounce pass to a cutting Donte DiVincenzo for an easy layup.
On a fast break, he caught a pass rushing up the middle the way he has for years, which usually leads to him bullying his way left and to the rim. This time, though, he immediately found Quickley a step ahead on the right side for the layup.
From the right corner, he fired a bullet through traffic, threading the needle to Mitchell Robinson for a dunk.
And in the fourth quarter with the game in the balance, he drove into traffic, stopped for a moment by the Atlanta defense. He calmly recovered the ball and whipped a one-handed pass to Randle in the corner for an open three-point field goal.
“From experience, the older I get, the more the game slows down for me,” Brunson said. “So I can imagine the same thing for him.
“I think it’s just coming from experience. RJ has the ability to do that. He’s shown that he’s done it really consistently these last two games and he’s going to continue to build off that. I’m not worried about him at all. That’s RJ. He should have the same mindset and same game face whether he’s 0-20 or 20-20. Doesn’t matter.”
“A lot of it is experience,” Thibodeau agreed. “But I think everyone is making a conscious effort of making the extra pass and reading the defense. I think when one guy starts to do it, then everyone starts to do it and you find rhythm off that.
“[Barrett’s growth] is all around. It’s movement without the ball. That’s huge. The cutting is really helpful for everybody. Julius, same thing. They had really good rhythm with each other and then the defense would collapse. Everyone was trusting. There was rotation. Just hit the open man. The ball will find the energy.”
For Barrett, some of this may be coming as the result of a stretch in which he emerged as a steady force for the Knicks in last season’s playoffs and then helped lead Team Canada in the FIBA World Cup.
“I’m feeling confident,” he said. “I’m always going to say I was able to play this summer, coming into the season very confident.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
