What to Expect from the Nets and the Knicks in the Second Half

The Knicks: Déjà Vu?

1. Will last year’s Julius Randle appear?

Randle, the Knicks’ cornerstone, coming off a large contract extension, has struggled with his shooting for most of the year, which is especially problematic because he takes the most shots on the team. This is not the Randle who propelled the Knicks to a second-half resurgence last year; the one who won the Most Improved Player Award, earned his first All-Star selection and made third-team all-N.B.A.

His struggles are baffling and partially stem from his inability to hit wide-open jumpers. Can the Knicks be one of the best teams in the N.B.A. in the second half without their best player producing at a high level? Maybe, but it’ll be exceedingly difficult to sustain that success over dozens of games — especially given the improvement in the rest of the league — unless Randle comes around, too.

2. Which RJ Barrett will the Knicks get this spring?

Barrett, now in his third year, has had one defining characteristic in a young career: He is significantly better in the second half of seasons than the first. In all three years, Barrett, 21, has shot poorly in the first half of the season, raising questions about his viability in the N.B.A.

And then at the halfway point, a switch seems to flip and Barrett looks like the budding star the Knicks hoped they drafted with the third pick in 2019. Last year, Barrett averaged 18.6 points per game and shot 43.5 percent from 3-point range after the All-Star break, up from 16.5 points per game and 35 percent. The trend is similar this year. After another slow start, Barrett has played some of the best basketball of his career. In his first eight January games, Barrett averaged 23.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while hitting 46.7 percent of his 3-point attempts. He’s a reliable dribble-penetrator and may currently be the Knicks’ best option on offense.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/sports/nets-knicks-nba.html