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The New York Knicks are struggling on offense. They rank 23rd in 100 possessions and 22nd in field goal percentage while trying second under 3 points in basketball. Without NBA All-Star Julius Randle, averaging 23 points on 46.8% from the field and 41.9% on 3 points, they could hardly score at all.
But after taking an 18-point lead and scoring just 20 points in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Knicks didn’t look to Randle for a shot at winning on final possession. . They moved on to second-year custody and former No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett who missed out on the winner.
Timberwolves rookie Anthony Edwards said that was the plan. After the game, he revealed Barrett was the player Minnesota wanted to shoot, shooting the sophomore Knick in the process.
“We told Jaden [McDaniels] try not to leave [Julius] Randle catches the ball, we’re going to get someone else to beat us, “Edwards said.” Luckily, RJ Barrett caught it, and if he had made the shot, we would have lived with it. I mean, because that’s who we wanted to take the picture to. We didn’t want anyone to take it. “
In almost every way, Edwards was right. Barrett is shooting 44.3% from the field and 33% from 3 points this season, two ineffective scores. His field goal percentage drops to 42.1% in the clutch, and on mid-range jumpers who tend to dominate late-game situations, Barrett only managed 36% of his attempts. Minnesota was right to prefer him to Randle in this situation.
But hearing a rookie call out another player like this is pretty rare, especially since Edwards has struggled at times this season. He shot just 37.1% from the field in his first 33 games, but has since improved to almost 41% in his last 15 games while scoring almost 24 points per game. As a rookie, Edwards scores in higher volumes than Barrett was in sophomore, although he does so less effectively.
New York and Minnesota are not traditional rivals. Playing in opposing conferences makes such an arrangement difficult. But who knows, after this game two recent top picks suddenly have a reason to clash.
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