Is RJ Barrett's hot start to the 2023-24 Knicks season sustainable?

The talk of this Knicks’ season has been the sub-zero, ice-cold shooting of Julius Randle. Others like Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart have also failed to replicate their efficient play from last year.

One Knick absolutely on fire right now is RJ Barrett. The Knicks wing is averaging 22.3 points while shooting 47.4 percent from the field, a stunning 47.1 percent from long distance and 86.7 percent from the free-throw line. These numbers would all be career-highs for the fifth-year pro. 

Consistency is also key. Barrett has scored at least 20 points in four of his six appearances and has been efficient for the most part and his defense has been solid.

Last year, Barrett had an uneven season. He shot a career-worst 31 percent from the three-point line. At times, Barrett was not in the closing lineups of close games for the Knicks and his fit as a third option next to Brunson and Randle seemed awkward. This was a critical season for Barrett as he entered the first year of a four-year, $107 million contract extension signed last summer. Barrett’s passed the test so far.

The season is still young with the Knicks having played just under 10 percent of their total schedule this season. Can Barrett keep it up throughout a full season?

Barrett’s shooting is probably unsustainable. It’s really hard to shoot near 50 percent from beyond the arc, but if he’s shooting just above league average (35.6 percent) that would still be good enough. Barrett has historically experienced poor starts from the perimeter. He made just 25.6 percent of his three-point attempts in his first 15 games last season.

The important thing is Barrett is knocking down open threes to keep the defense honest. New York’s starting lineup is short on outside shooting and has struggled to find ideal spacing. Barrett is shooting 53.6 percent on catch-and-shoot threes this season, per NBA Stats.

Barrett has been able to make quicker decisions. He’s holding onto the ball less. According to NBA Stats, Barrett’s average seconds per touch (2.68 seconds) and average dribbles per touch (2.14) this season would be career lows.

It’s been a natural evolution for the former lottery pick, who started to show signs in last year’s postseason when he scored at least 20 points in a six-of-seven-game stretch and showcased how he could be a secondary playmaker.

During the playoffs, Barrett simplified the game and attacked the paint, but made the right passes on most occasions. It seems that experience has traveled over to this season and is an important step to New York’s growth as a team.

Barrett has the highest net rating (plus 14.8 points per 100 possessions) of any player in the Knicks rotation. He’s worked well in a third-option role in the starting lineup and has also done well as more of a primary hub in lineups with New York’s bench rotation of Immanuel Quickley, Donte DiVincenzo, Hart, and Isaiah Hartenstein. That group has outscored opponents by 3.1 points per 100 possessions in 58 minutes.

With the Knicks currently 24th in offensive efficiency, they will need all the help they can get on that end. With Barrett efficient from the perimeter, his fit with the team’s top two options in Brunson and Randle makes more sense now and could have a major impact on what this Knicks team does this season.

If he keeps up this hot start, it changes a lot about the future of this Knicks roster. At 23, and as a third option, Barrett would make sense as a future building block or complementary piece to the future superstar the Knicks perpetually continue to pursue on the trade market.