Official RJ Barrett Thread Part 2

[LoveMyRaps]

RJ > OG

[MEDIC]

If you're talking about Norman Powell, he was already uber effecient in Toronto before the trade, he just managed to keep up his effeciency with higher volume. Essentially he was already arguably the best 6th man in the league at the time of the trade.

Norm took less than half the shots that RJ did his first few years in the league. He was a bench player. He had a much easier job.

RJ was in NY & was thrown into the fire from a super young age. There is no way Norm would have been efficient, given the same circumstance. Norm had very little pressure compared to RJ's situation.

I get that your comment waa specifically about TS%, but context matters.

In his final year before the trade norm was a 19.6PPG scorer on 13.5 shots on 49.8% FG/ 43.9% 3P/ 86.5% FT shooting.

You are really underestimating how good of a scorer Norm was back then.

I love Norm as a player. He was also 26/27 years old at that time. Entering his prime. Older than RJ is now. I am not trying to downplay Norms accomplishments, but up until Norm was 25 years old, he was only averaging about 6 shots a game.

RJ was.what 19-23 years old when he was with the Kincks & had a much bigger role on that team.

Maybe Norm wasn't the best comparison.....but he did make a big jump post 25 years old.

[tsherkin]

Maybe Norm wasn't the best comparison.....but he did make a big jump post 25 years old.

Right, but was that age, or that he was given the chance to start full-time after that point? Because as soon as we started him, he had that 16 ppg season in 2020. And his passing support had been trending upward for years.

[Thaddy]

I would argue this isn't his final form. RJ could get even better, the 3pt shot could be better same goes for his FT shooting and help defense. I would love to see him take a charge or two even now and then.

[DreamTeam09]

so has any of the detractors or naysayers come around & apologize for being wrong about RJ here? I remember arguing with a mid the entire summer about RJ n the Raps

[Dexjackson]

RJ > OG

I find it hard to compare them because they are such different players. Factoring durability concerns and contract to the equation, I would agree with you.

[MEDIC]

Maybe Norm wasn't the best comparison.....but he did make a big jump post 25 years old.

Right, but was that age, or that he was given the chance to start full-time after that point? Because as soon as we started him, he had that 16 ppg season in 2020. And his passing support had been trending upward for years.

Could be.

But I guess my point is.......I would be surprised if Norm could have maintained his TS% as a 19-20 year old, putting up 12-13 shots a game on a bad Knicks team.

We will never know.........but his TS% in his 4 years at UCLA was .548. Three of his 4 seasons he had a TS% of under .540.

Edit:

Norm's first 3 seasons in the NBA:

22 yo: .541
23 yo: .552
24 yo: .492

RJ Barrett's TS% at the same age:

22 yo: .537
23 yo: .580
24 yo: .547

So at the same age, RJ actually had a bettee TS% than Norm.

Either way.......they are similar players with similar trajectories. At 25 years old, their TS% is almost identical.

[MEDIC]

RJ > OG

For this team? I fully believe RJ's skillset is more important than OG's......and I love OG as a player. One of my favorite Raptors of all time.

[MEDIC]

I would argue this isn't his final form. RJ could get even better, the 3pt shot could be better same goes for his FT shooting and help defense. I would love to see him take a charge or two even now and then.

I agree. I could see RJ making an allstar game or 2 in his prime years.

[Westside Gunn]

RJ > OG

This was pretty obvious from day 1 of the trade, and set in stone obvious when the Knicks knicked and gave him that ridiculous contract.

[tsherkin]

Maybe Norm wasn't the best comparison.....but he did make a big jump post 25 years old.

Right, but was that age, or that he was given the chance to start full-time after that point? Because as soon as we started him, he had that 16 ppg season in 2020. And his passing support had been trending upward for years.

Could be.

But I guess my point is.......I would be surprised if Norm could have maintained his TS% as a 19-20 year old, putting up 12-13 shots a game on a bad Knicks team.

We will never know.........but his TS% in his 4 years at UCLA was .548. Three of his 4 seasons he had a TS% of under .540.

Yeah. He didnt hit the league until 22, and as an 18 and 19 year-old, he was a crappy FT shooter. But he developed there a lot more than RJ. It is an interesting what-if. And of course as I noted, Norm thrives with a lot of passing support, which would not have been present in the NY context.

[PushDaRock]

Only thing I'm going to whine about with RJ is his damn FT shooting. He's leaving a lot of points out there not knocking them down. He hopefully can figure it out, I really am not at all confident with him hitting late game FT's in a close game.

[MEDIC]

Only thing I'm going to whine about with RJ is his damn FT shooting. He's leaving a lot of points out there not knocking them down. He hopefully can figure it out, I really am not at all confident with him hitting late game FT's in a close game.

Yeah. Our big 3 are all are flawed in some way. Scottie isn't consistent. BI gets his handle picked off too much.

Scottie & RJ aren't in their primes yet, so the hope is they continue to improve. BI is still new to the team/ system & getting back from injury.

The hope is that 2 years from now they will have been playing together for a while & things will start to work like clockwork.

It's actually quite impressive that they are performing as well as they are with limited time together.

[MEDIC]

RJ freaking Barrett. This man stepped up when BI & Scottie went down.

He won us this one!

[niQ]

Read on Twitter

[MEDIC]

Read on Twitter

Wow! That's crazy!

[Westside Gunn]

They played like ass today but I really couldn't believe my eyes on how RJ just took the game over.

Toxic asset my ass - New York is just a **** place for players to be. Once they start languishing you get em on the low like Masai did

[tsherkin]

They played like ass today but I really couldn't believe my eyes on how RJ just took the game over.

Game was a bit rough for him until the fourth, and they he just went insane. Looked fantastic in the 4th.

[lobosloboslobos]

so has any of the detractors or naysayers come around & apologize for being wrong about RJ here? I remember arguing with a mid the entire summer about RJ n the Raps

there wasn't just a little there was a LOT of hate for RJ, continuing right up until he got hurt even. I'd like to see someone go back and gather the receipts on all the posters who thought it was ok to endlessly trash a toronto-born player who has made a consistently positive impact since he arrived. to me that is such sh*tty behaviour.

[Boogie!]

so has any of the detractors or naysayers come around & apologize for being wrong about RJ here? I remember arguing with a mid the entire summer about RJ n the Raps

there wasn't just a little there was a LOT of hate for RJ, continuing right up until he got hurt even. I'd like to see someone go back and gather the receipts on all the posters who thought it was ok to endlessly trash a toronto-born player who has made a consistently positive impact since he arrived. to me that is such sh*tty behaviour.

A mod literally told me that NO ONE hates Rj. With people and 1ing. Been told I make up these arguments. Always gaslighting.