Official RJ Barrett Thread

[Raps in 4]

Darko system is putting him in movement and highlighting the best parts of his game..strength and finishing. Ill hold off on the 3pt shooting % until i see it for a full year, but his overall efficiency improvement i think is somewhat sustainable (minus a few % points)

He's shooting less 3s here than in NYK. He's pretty much only taking a shot if he's completely open. In NYK, he was taking Luka-esque shots all the time (and of course, bricking them). I think his 3P% is sustainable if we keep using him in this role.

[Scase]

I've been completely wrong on him..

I thought he was just the filler in the trade who wouldn't score it efficiently and drag down otherwise winning lineups. It's actually been the complete opposite of that.

Hope he can keep it up because if he does, he's a big building block moving forward.

I've been completely wrong on him..

I thought he was just the filler in the trade who wouldn't score it efficiently and drag down otherwise winning lineups. It's actually been the complete opposite of that.

Hope he can keep it up because if he does, he's a big building block moving forward.

Yup, me too. I mean, we are coming close to a quarter of a season now and he is getting even better.

I'm a big believer in the BBQ core (and not because they beat a very bad road team last night).

I find the best posters are able to change their opinions when the circumstances change. Good on you guys.

Also, I forget the quote, but Darko said something to the effect they were going to change the way RJ plays when he came in to make him more successful and a better player. Darko and the staff have done that so good on them.

Meanwhile the worst posters are trying to take victory laps after someone admitted they were wrong. And people wonder why sometimes others aren't willing to admit they were wrong.

[djsunyc]

making definitive statements based on opinions and trying to prove them as facts is probably not the best for discourse. nobody wants to let things play out first before saying player X is this or that.

[MiamiSPX]

making definitive statements based on opinions and trying to prove them as facts is probably not the best for discourse. nobody wants to let things play out first before saying player X is this or that.

Lol, the best are the takes trashing Scottie 3 minutes into the game.

[HKBOY]

RJ has the most potential to be a 1A on this team right now. He is nearly unstoppable when he is near the rim, and he has the power and footwork to get there. His rebounding and passing are above average for a shooting guard and while his defense isn't perfect, it is already much better than DeRozan has ever shown.

More importantly, he is very mature, competes hard, never complains and he has the willingness to become great, so the mental toughness is there.

If he can improve his jumpers, he will be unstoppable. I think his ceiling is Paul Pierce in DeRozan's body.

[sidsid]

A ball movement philosophy fits Scottie, IQ and RJ better, which is why moving on from Nurse was crucial. Fits pretty much everyone but the combo guards the team has been prioritizing over the years.

RJ still has to overcome at least one of his fundamental issues - defense or 3pt shooting - to not limit his impact to a usage based role in the playoffs. That's where Derozan's negatives all kicked in. He needs a consistent off-ball positive skill. The corner 3 is mitigation. As a slasher we'll want him above the break more with the 3. We need him to be Norm there.

What's funny is that regular season RJ may end up garnering enough interest to be a poor man's DeRozan as a future salary for a star trade.

[Zeno]

It’s only 16 games but if this is his level in our system then he is on a bargain contract. I think folks are really overreacting with the 1A potential though. He a perfect 3rd best player in my opinion. Probably best if he is a 2 longterm with Gradey at the 3

[ArthurVandelay]

I've been completely wrong on him..

I thought he was just the filler in the trade who wouldn't score it efficiently and drag down otherwise winning lineups. It's actually been the complete opposite of that.

Hope he can keep it up because if he does, he's a big building block moving forward.

Yup, me too. I mean, we are coming close to a quarter of a season now and he is getting even better.

I'm a big believer in the BBQ core (and not because they beat a very bad road team last night).

I find the best posters are able to change their opinions when the circumstances change. Good on you guys.

Also, I forget the quote, but Darko said something to the effect they were going to change the way RJ plays when he came in to make him more successful and a better player. Darko and the staff have done that so good on them.

Meanwhile the worst posters are trying to take victory laps after someone admitted they were wrong. And people wonder why sometimes others aren't willing to admit they were wrong.

Who’s taking a victory lap? I think it’s refreshing to see people who were down on RJ willing to admit their initial opinions or concerns turned out thus far to be unwarranted instead of digging their heels in and trashing a 23 year old Raptor showing he has room to grow.

This place is so toxic at times I find myself wondering why I keep coming back. Their posts today were refreshing and reminded me there are opinions worth reading and conversations worth having…even when I don’t necessarily agree.

[Scase]

I find the best posters are able to change their opinions when the circumstances change. Good on you guys.

Also, I forget the quote, but Darko said something to the effect they were going to change the way RJ plays when he came in to make him more successful and a better player. Darko and the staff have done that so good on them.

Meanwhile the worst posters are trying to take victory laps after someone admitted they were wrong. And people wonder why sometimes others aren't willing to admit they were wrong.

Who’s taking a victory lap? I think it’s refreshing to see people who were down on RJ willing to admit their initial opinions or concerns turned out thus far to be unwarranted instead of digging their heels in and trashing a 23 year old Raptor showing he has room to grow.

This place is so toxic at times I find myself wondering why I keep coming back. Their posts today were refreshing and reminded me there are opinions worth reading and conversations worth having…even when I don’t necessarily agree.

I was literally one of the people saying I was wrong, then had 3 separate posters go and take victory laps about how I was wrong, while posting evidence of my prior posts where I was wrong lol.

[ArthurVandelay]

Meanwhile the worst posters are trying to take victory laps after someone admitted they were wrong. And people wonder why sometimes others aren't willing to admit they were wrong.

Who’s taking a victory lap? I think it’s refreshing to see people who were down on RJ willing to admit their initial opinions or concerns turned out thus far to be unwarranted instead of digging their heels in and trashing a 23 year old Raptor showing he has room to grow.

This place is so toxic at times I find myself wondering why I keep coming back. Their posts today were refreshing and reminded me there are opinions worth reading and conversations worth having…even when I don’t necessarily agree.

I was literally one of the people saying I was wrong, then had 3 separate posters go and take victory laps about how I was wrong, while posting evidence of my prior posts where I was wrong lol.

Sorry man. I didn’t see that. I wasn’t being passive aggressive in my original post that you replied to.

[AkelaLoneWolf]

Meanwhile the worst posters are trying to take victory laps after someone admitted they were wrong. And people wonder why sometimes others aren't willing to admit they were wrong.

Who’s taking a victory lap? I think it’s refreshing to see people who were down on RJ willing to admit their initial opinions or concerns turned out thus far to be unwarranted instead of digging their heels in and trashing a 23 year old Raptor showing he has room to grow.

This place is so toxic at times I find myself wondering why I keep coming back. Their posts today were refreshing and reminded me there are opinions worth reading and conversations worth having…even when I don’t necessarily agree.

I was literally one of the people saying I was wrong, then had 3 separate posters go and take victory laps about how I was wrong, while posting evidence of my prior posts where I was wrong lol.

arent you the tortured soul

[Scase]

Who’s taking a victory lap? I think it’s refreshing to see people who were down on RJ willing to admit their initial opinions or concerns turned out thus far to be unwarranted instead of digging their heels in and trashing a 23 year old Raptor showing he has room to grow.

This place is so toxic at times I find myself wondering why I keep coming back. Their posts today were refreshing and reminded me there are opinions worth reading and conversations worth having…even when I don’t necessarily agree.

I was literally one of the people saying I was wrong, then had 3 separate posters go and take victory laps about how I was wrong, while posting evidence of my prior posts where I was wrong lol.

Sorry man. I didn’t see that. I wasn’t being passive aggressive in my original post that you replied to.

All good!

[C Court]

I’ve been high on RJ since we got him. I saw him December 1st with the Knicks, but tonight will be the first time live as a Raptor.

Read on Twitter

[LoveMyRaps]

I’ve been high on RJ since we got him. I saw him December 1st with the Knicks, but tonight will be the first time live as a Raptor.

Read on Twitter

I hope you get to see him but he's probably not playing:

Read on Twitter

[Scase]

I’ve been high on RJ since we got him. I saw him December 1st with the Knicks, but tonight will be the first time live as a Raptor.

Read on Twitter

I got some bad news friend.

Read on Twitter

[C Court]

Well that sucks, but I’m okay with RJ not risking future injury.

[Johnny Bball]

I've been completely wrong on him..

I thought he was just the filler in the trade who wouldn't score it efficiently and drag down otherwise winning lineups. It's actually been the complete opposite of that.

Hope he can keep it up because if he does, he's a big building block moving forward.

Yup, me too. I mean, we are coming close to a quarter of a season now and he is getting even better.

I'm a big believer in the BBQ core (and not because they beat a very bad road team last night).

I find the best posters are able to change their opinions when the circumstances change. Good on you guys.

Also, I forget the quote, but Darko said something to the effect they were going to change the way RJ plays when he came in to make him more successful and a better player. Darko and the staff have done that so good on them.

Meanwhile the worst posters are trying to take victory laps after someone admitted they were wrong. And people wonder why sometimes others aren't willing to admit they were wrong.

Or maybe if you didn't just run your mouth so very often with so much annoying negatvity, then presume a simple oops should solve it all, as you go right back to doing the same thing on any number of topics.

[ArthurVandelay]

Well that sucks, but I’m okay with RJ not risking future injury.

Hopefully his minutes go to Abgaji

Silver lining

[KrazyP]

I think the lesson in all of this is that role, system, coaching and teammates can have a significant impact on how players perform. Only MVP types can perform well in all situations.

I hope posters stop taking stats like TS% as biblical and start using them in context.

Along the same lines, team chemistry, culture and roster balance can have major impact on how a team performs and how players develop. When these things are missing, no individual player should be used as a scapegoat which often happens on this forum.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Is there a place for posters who wanted us to trade OG for RJ last year? I was lobbying for RJ + future lightly protected NYK first, but I'm happier with IQ and RJ.

I think his own game hasn't changed much at all, but he has smarter players here and the ball moves a little more freely, which helps get him some easy looks. He definitely has a load of work to do to reach that next level. A pull-up jumper would make him a multi-year all-star.