After seeing Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and Darius Garland graduate to All-Star status — while also having to fathom Tyler Herro and Jordan Poole’s rapid ascension in the league hierarchy — it's safe to presume that RJ Barrett is dissatisfied with his standing among his peers from the 2019 NBA Draft class.
As a result, he’s decided to voice his frustrations about his ranking in the pecking order with his production.
In the month of February, Barrett's offensive tear was higher than any month of his career (albeit while only suiting up for six games), managing to surpass January's (his previous career-high for a month) while also maintaining similar efficiency across the board:
Barrett’s Scoring (last two months)*
Month |
PPG |
FGA |
TS% |
3P% |
FT% |
January |
21.8 |
17.6 |
53.8% |
40.2% |
68.1% |
February |
28.3 |
22.2 |
53.3% |
39.0% |
66.7% |
(Mobile users scroll right for full table)
* Data Provided by Basketball-Reference
Barrett was able to increase his scoring load without experiencing a meaningful dip in efficiency, which is a great sign that he can scale his volume up without bleeding too much value in other places. And although the sample may be small, it seems reasonably sustainable when you dive deeper into the progression of his shot diet this season.
Barrett Drives Per Game (by month)*
Month |
Drives Per Game |
Points Off Drives Per Game |
October |
7.2 |
4.7 |
November |
7.5 |
3.3 |
December |
10.3 |
5.9 |
January |
14.6 |
9.8 |
February |
15.8 |
11.2 |
* Data Provided by NBA.com
Barrett has more than doubled his number of drives per game from the start of the season to now. This upward mobility is important because it’s easier to maintain efficiency when one is living off a meal plan of high-percentage shots in the paint as opposed to less nutrient-rich outside looks.
When paying attention to his drives from this month closely, you notice that a good chunk of them come in different ways.
- Attacking mismatches in the half-court
RJ Barrett's 46 point night - 9 things that stood out
— Ariel (@APachecoNBA) February 26, 2022
The most impressive part of RJ's game last night was his understanding of Miami's defense. He frequently sought out favorable matchups against Robinson and Herro. Watch him ask for a Burks screen knowing Miami will switch pic.twitter.com/bZNjpqJhPj
- Leveraging ball-screens
- Getting after it in transition
RJ Barrett's growth in transition has been fun. pic.twitter.com/LWLnGH0lXD
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) February 27, 2022
Barrett's increase in drives per game has been accompanied by a gradual increase in free throws, which of course is another highly sustainable way to score at a higher volume while maintaining similar efficiency.
RJ Barrett FTA per game by month
— Mat Issa (@matissa15) February 28, 2022
October - 3.2
November - 3.1
December - 4.9
January - 6.1
February - 10
Per Basketball Reference.
A promising sign regarding the stagnation of his three-point shooting (remember, no change is a good thing in this case) is that he’s doing it without shooting at an absurdly high rate on pull-ups (only 27.3%). High pull-up shooting percentages for non-elite shooters are incredibly difficult to maintain over long periods of time. For instance, Julius Randle shot 40% on pull-up threes last season, and now this year, he’s regressed down to a measly 29.9% (per NBA.com). So the fact that Barrett is shooting nearly 40% from downtown during his hot streak without nailing an insane amount of pull-up threes is welcome news.