On a day where bad news was seemingly an hourly occasion for the New York Knicks, RJ Barrett single-handedly pumped life back into the fanbase, scoring a new career-high in his return from injury.
The third-year wing scored 46 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field and a career-high 22 free-throw attempts.
4️⃣ 6️⃣
RJ Barrett was ON FIRE dropping 30 points in the first half on his way to setting a new career-high in points with 46!
@RjBarrett6: 46 PTS | 9 REB | 6 3PM
At 21-years old, Barrett is bested only by Carl Braun (1947) as the youngest player in franchise history to record a 40-point performance, and his 46-point outing is the most by a Knicks player since Carmelo Anthony in 2014.
In regards to the league as a whole, Friday night makes the former third overall pick the first player in history to score 46 or more points on a 55% or greater shooting clip at just 21 years old.
RJ Barrett becomes the first 21 year old in NBA history to score 46 points on 55% plus shooting. He also held all Heat players guarded to 1-17 shooting, primarily Tyler Herro to 0-8. An amazing night for the young budding star.
A historic night indeed for RJ Barrett, who’d missed the last four games prior to the NBA’s All-Star break due to an ankle injury he suffered in a February 8th loss to the Denver Nuggets.
But all of this only makes the New York Knicks’ loss to the Miami Heat sting that much more, and raises further questions about the viability of this roster and the team’s direction moving forward.
Unfortunately, now down a couple of bodies, the front office will have a significant opportunity to evaluate and with these concerns over the team’s final 22 games.
Knicks Lose Grimes, Rose
Walking out of the All-Star break, not even the most pessimistic of New York Knicks fans could have avoided the looming boost that the returns of Derrick Rose and RJ Barrett would bring.
The former hasn’t played since a December 16th win over the Houston Rockets, and the former hadn’t since February 8th, until he suited up Friday against Miami.
Now they’ll have to settle for just one, with the team announcing pre-game that Rose will undergo a second procedure on the ankle that’s kept him out this season, with no timeline for recovery.
Derrick Rose will undergo a minor procedure on his right ankle today. A timeline for his return has not yet been set.
The 2011 MVP had long been considered a potential savior for the Knicks down the stretch, should the team have opted to push for a spot in the play-in tournament and playoff berth.
Some fans were upset over the news, and rightfully so, given that this implies the team won’t be pushing for that down the stretch. But that feeling would soon be overcome with more concern over a different injury.
In the first half of their loss to the Heat, whatever was remaining of New York’s season took a big hit, with rising star Quentin Grimes suffering a non-contact injury in his right knee.
Quentin Grimes appears to be shaken up with a knee injury
let’s hope he’s all good 🙏
The team later diagnosed this as a subluxation of the right patella, which in layman’s terms is a dislocation.
Grimes made sure to fire off a tweet of positivity following the team’s loss.
Everything’s all good y’all ! 🙏🏽
The first-year guard had been starting in place of RJ Barrett prior to the All-Star break and leads the NBA’s rookie class in three-point percentage this season, minimum of 150 attempts.
Friday was a roller coaster of emotions for both the New York Knicks and their fans.
Not that this season has been any different.
Hopefully, the final 22-game stretch provides a sense of normalcy and some consistency for one of the NBA’s most underwhelming teams this year.
Even if that just means letting RJ Barrett average 40+ points the rest of the way.
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RJ Barrett Makes Knicks History in ‘Remarkable’ Return