Official RJ Barrett Thread

[everdiso]

RJ a -5.8bpm in 2gms as a rap so far. And that's with him shooting better than he usually does. He ain't good.

Irrelevant sample size. He's a -0.9 EPM player on the season which is "playable". Obviously he isn't a good player, and nobody would argue that, but he's a massive improvement over Precious and Flynn in the rotation (-2.9 and -4.2, respectively).

At the low end of playable. A guy you don't want getting starter minutes. And you'd hope those numbers would turn positive or at least even in a more selective bench role.

[Raps in 4]

RJ a -5.8bpm in 2gms as a rap so far. And that's with him shooting better than he usually does. He ain't good.

Irrelevant sample size. He's a -0.9 EPM player on the season which is "playable". Obviously he isn't a good player, and nobody would argue that, but he's a massive improvement over Precious and Flynn in the rotation (-2.9 and -4.2, respectively).

At the low end of playable. A guy you don't want getting starter minutes. And you'd hope those numbers would turn positive or at least even in a more selective bench role.

At the low end of playable on a contender, which we are not.

[everdiso]

Irrelevant sample size. He's a -0.9 EPM player on the season which is "playable". Obviously he isn't a good player, and nobody would argue that, but he's a massive improvement over Precious and Flynn in the rotation (-2.9 and -4.2, respectively).

At the low end of playable. A guy you don't want getting starter minutes. And you'd hope those numbers would turn positive or at least even in a more selective bench role.

At the low end of playable on a contender, which we are not.

even on our team he's life or death to stay in the top half of the rotation.

[load management]

RJ is perfect for a 6th man hometown hero role.

Sent from my M2012K11AG using RealGM mobile app

[bluerap23]

RJ is perfect for a 6th man hometown hero role.

Sent from my M2012K11AG using RealGM mobile app

Yes I’d like to see GTJ in SL with RJ on bench for a few games. Would balance things out.

[TorontoRapsFan]

I see RJ is already whipping boy for a lot of people.

He scores a little better from 3 and the guy can average 20. He's got mobility on D, and hustles. He'll be fine. Chill people.

[Dennis 37]

I see RJ is already whipping boy for a lot of people.

He scores a little better from 3 and the guy can average 20. He's got mobility on D, and hustles. He'll be fine. Chill people.

This man is not FVV driving into three taller players or dribbling the clock out. Did I not see him dish it off to Scottie on a fast break who then got it to the corner for a Pascal three? Where was the tunnel vision on that? I was told the man had incurable tunnel vision?

That play where he got hit in the face, the man jumped up and sprinted the floor to receive a long pass for an easy dunk. The man had court awareness while checking out his face. Notice the word sprint.

This man is not FVV and he is not Hedo Turkoglu.

[___Rand___]

I get what everyone is saying but my experience watching him in these 1st two games is that he’s a versatile/aggressive scorer(handle/shoot/drive/postup) who you have to guard or he will score; or at least attempt to.
He’s not efficient and is a ball hog but he puts pressure on a defence constantly. And that’s valuable.

He’s not a wallflower and I like that.

He just needs to get better at his craft and pick his spots better. Can he do that, don’t know.

But eye test wise, I see why he was picked 3rd overall and is a nice reclamation project given his ceiling.

I agree with all of what you said.

He needs to work on his defense. Darko, get him to focus on defense. Look at Kings game. He was constantly losing his man, getting cooked all game. So bad Darko benched him in 2nd half.

[johanliebert]

I see RJ is already whipping boy for a lot of people.

He scores a little better from 3 and the guy can average 20. He's got mobility on D, and hustles. He'll be fine. Chill people.

The number nerds who have never hooped gotta pray for a kids downfall. They have to be correct about their predictions.

[johanliebert]

I get what everyone is saying but my experience watching him in these 1st two games is that he’s a versatile/aggressive scorer(handle/shoot/drive/postup) who you have to guard or he will score; or at least attempt to.
He’s not efficient and is a ball hog but he puts pressure on a defence constantly. And that’s valuable.

He’s not a wallflower and I like that.

He just needs to get better at his craft and pick his spots better. Can he do that, don’t know.

But eye test wise, I see why he was picked 3rd overall and is a nice reclamation project given his ceiling.

I agree with all of what you said.

He needs to work on his defense. Darko, get him to focus on defense. Look at Kings game. He was constantly losing his man, getting cooked all game. So bad Darko benched him in 2nd half.

The entire team got cooked. Stop with the false narratives schroeder is the reason he didnt check back in

[johanliebert]

RJ a -5.8bpm in 2gms as a rap so far. And that's with him shooting better than he usually does. He ain't good.

Like i said these dudes are number readers. Posting advanced meteics they don’t understand cause they have to die on the hill of said young player is a bust.

Why dont these stats apply to the rest of the roster? Narratives, narratives.

[ItsDanger]

This team needs a real shot blocking C, actual lane intimidation in the worst way, to compensate for defenders like RJ. Playing him at SG will cause issues but if they see the defense behind him, it may cause adjustments.

[everdiso]

RJ a -5.8bpm in 2gms as a rap so far. And that's with him shooting better than he usually does. He ain't good.

Like i said these dudes are number readers. Posting advanced meteics they don’t understand cause they have to die on the hill of said young player is a bust.

Why dont these stats apply to the rest of the roster? Narratives, narratives.

a) these stats do apply to the rest of the roster.

b) Darko doesn't have RJ in his closing lineups for good reason. RJ sat for the last 9 minutes last night while the Raps made their comeback, for a reason. The Knicks' starting lineup looks way better without RJ for a reason.

[MainEvent]

He had a good first half.
easily was our best player in the 1st quarter. I think he was 3/3 and made a bunch of nice passes

[___Rand___]

I get what everyone is saying but my experience watching him in these 1st two games is that he’s a versatile/aggressive scorer(handle/shoot/drive/postup) who you have to guard or he will score; or at least attempt to.
He’s not efficient and is a ball hog but he puts pressure on a defence constantly. And that’s valuable.

He’s not a wallflower and I like that.

He just needs to get better at his craft and pick his spots better. Can he do that, don’t know.

But eye test wise, I see why he was picked 3rd overall and is a nice reclamation project given his ceiling.

I agree with all of what you said.

He needs to work on his defense. Darko, get him to focus on defense. Look at Kings game. He was constantly losing his man, getting cooked all game. So bad Darko benched him in 2nd half.

The entire team got cooked. Stop with the false narratives schroeder is the reason he didnt check back in

lol ok you're an RJ homer. I love RJ but I also see his flaws. you don't I guess. peace and out!

[Basketball_Jones]

Shades of the young Norman Powell in him when I see him going 1 v 2 before the team has even crossed half court and he rifles a layup off the freakin glass nowhere close to going in. Man, he can really be our next Powell though I see it in him. Whoever developed Norm with us needs to work with him ASAP.

[billy_hoyle]

RJ a -5.8bpm in 2gms as a rap so far. And that's with him shooting better than he usually does. He ain't good.

Like i said these dudes are number readers. Posting advanced meteics they don’t understand cause they have to die on the hill of said young player is a bust.

Why dont these stats apply to the rest of the roster? Narratives, narratives.

a) these stats do apply to the rest of the roster.

b) Darko doesn't have RJ in his closing lineups for good reason. RJ sat for the last 9 minutes last night while the Raps made their comeback, for a reason. The Knicks' starting lineup looks way better without RJ for a reason.

Your drawing conclusions rather quickly.

Schroeder earned the final nine minutes. The Kings started actually missing shots. Pascal and Barnes started actually playing D in the 4th. That matters. RJ seemed like the only guy playing hard to start the game. I'd call those numbers coincidental.

We've played significantly better without OG. Is that because OG sucked?

[James_Raptors]

He's a -73 over his last 7 NBA games, and a - in every single one of those games including 3 wins.
He hasn't lived up to his draft position and he's currently overpaid for what he brings to the table.

That being said, he's still young, with a new coach and a new system.
For our sake, hopefully he learns to refine his strengths and avoid trying to do things on the court that his body is incapable of accomplishing. I'm not counting him out and I'm certainly willing to see if he can improve. It's not like this team is anything more than a pretender, or play-in 1st round fodder atm. So we might as well see what we have with these guys over the next few weeks, and then make more serious decisions on their longevity with the club, down the road.

[James_Raptors]

Like i said these dudes are number readers. Posting advanced meteics they don’t understand cause they have to die on the hill of said young player is a bust.

Why dont these stats apply to the rest of the roster? Narratives, narratives.

a) these stats do apply to the rest of the roster.

b) Darko doesn't have RJ in his closing lineups for good reason. RJ sat for the last 9 minutes last night while the Raps made their comeback, for a reason. The Knicks' starting lineup looks way better without RJ for a reason.

Your drawing conclusions rather quickly.

Schroeder earned the final nine minutes. The Kings started actually missing shots. Pascal and Barnes started actually playing D in the 4th. That matters. RJ seemed like the only guy playing hard to start the game. I'd call those numbers coincidental.

We've played significantly better without OG. Is that because OG sucked?

Actually, part of it was because OG's play had diminished since Dec 11th, when the trade negotiations started with NY. Check out his stats from Dec 13th on. He's my favorite Raptors. I wore his jersey as my avatar here on REALGM since before he even played a game with Toronto. So I'm not going to suggest he was mailing it in or pulling a Vince, but he was certainly affected by "stuff", whether it was his head on the trade block, or all the ridiculous drama with Spicy P and Masai, who knows.

But not only that, the trade meant we didn't have to play Precious and Malachi Flynn. Malachi Flynn was so poor of a player, he's on the Davion Mitchell flight path to non-NBA-er (without all the draft hype). Not having to play those two, and OG-lite, or whatever that was before we left, is a main factor why we looked and played better. We actually have players in their natural positions, and allowing us to bring Dennis off the bench. Schroder, especially, goes from a borderline starter on a playoff team, to one of the leagues best backups. All of that because we have more quality depth and players in their correct positions on the court.

[Dennis 37]

He's a -73 over his last 7 NBA games, and a - in every single one of those games including 3 wins.
He hasn't lived up to his draft position and he's currently overpaid for what he brings to the table.

That being said, he's still young, with a new coach and a new system.
For our sake, hopefully he learns to refine his strengths and avoid trying to do things on the court that his body is incapable of accomplishing. I'm not counting him out and I'm certainly willing to see if he can improve. It's not like this team is anything more than a pretender, or play-in 1st round fodder atm. So we might as well see what we have with these guys over the next few weeks, and then make more serious decisions on their longevity with the club, down the road.

He brought Quickley to the table. Without taking RJ's contract, we might not have Immanuel. Everything else is bonus.