New Orleans Pelicans: 3 storylines to watch against the New York Knicks

New Orleans Pelicans: RJ Barrett is a threat

RJ Barrett has been the forgotten marquee member of the 2019 draft class.

For a while, before that college season started, it seemed like Barrett had a sizable chance of being the number one pick. Eventually, he was and has been eclipsed by Duke teammate Zion Williamson, as well as number two pick that year Ja Morant.

It didn’t help Barrett’s recognition that he landed in New York. While the Knicks are undoubtedly a historic NBA franchise and Madison Square Garden very much remains the Mecca of basketball, Barrett fell into an ailing ball club that was depressed both on and off the court. The Knicks’ reputation was in tatters and the product on the floor showed as much.

But things have changed over the last year, starting with the appointment of former sports agent Leon Rose as the Knicks’ president. Rose has started to transform the Knicks’ image and, although it was criticized at the time, his decision to bring in Tom Thibodeau looks a very shrewd one in hindsight.

Thibodeau suffered backlash after his last coaching job with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who played an antiquated and ugly brand of basketball. Perhaps we were too quick to forget Thibodeau’s time in Chicago or the fact that no one besides Kevin Garnett has ever experienced real success in the Twin Cities.

Barrett is a microcosm of the Knicks’ quick improvement. The Duke draftee is scoring and assisting more efficiently. His shot looks much improved, too. Barrett is up to 38 percent shooting from three and he has improved his free throw percentage by 13 points.

The New Orleans Pelicans will need to be wary of Barrett, who has really played well since the start of March. In that time period until now, he has scored 19 points per game on 43 percent shooting from beyond the arc.