RJ Barrett’s Breakout Campaign Has Failed To Launch
From the struggles of RJ Barrett to the beautiful late-game execution of the Dallas Mavericks, I talked about everything notable that happened around the NBA last night.
Portland Trail Blazers (119-110 W)
With Denver missing their three best players, a massacre was the expected result of this game. Dame and CJ ran wild, combining for their best game of the season. Those two combined for 58 points on a scorching 69% shooting from the field.
After a sluggish first half, the Blazers exploded at the end. Dame and CJ scored 18 straight points, catapulting Portland into the lead. Portland ended the first half on an 18-3 run and took a double-digit lead. It was smooth sailing from there.
The story of the night was the defense. Portland forced 17 turnovers and scored 32 points off turnovers. We had 12 steals and created chaos for the Nuggets. The rotations and the closeouts get better by the day, as Portland has embraced what Chauncey Billups is trying to teach.
This game perfectly emulated how the Blazers want to play under Chauncey Billups. A defense that forces chaos and a free-flowing offense. It was a great game all around for Portland, who are starting to round into form on both ends of the floor.
Los Angeles Lakers (100) vs New York Knicks (106)
This game was…interesting. The Knicks burst out to a big lead in the first half thanks to their hot shooting. The game was shaping up to be a blowout, but the short-handed Lakers hung around.
Fueled by Westbrook in the 3rd quarter, the Lakers got back into the game. However, they couldn’t sustain their momentum and the Knicks pulled away late for a gritty win. The Knicks, once again, have their bench to thank for this one.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are weird. They have moments where they look great and they also have moments where they look terrible. Last night, they couldn’t sync up their offense and defense together.
Their inconsistent play on both sides of the ball continues to frustrate them, as they are a measly 9-10 on the year. Even with their major injuries, it is slightly concerning that they haven’t figured things out yet.
Russell Westbrook’s Great 3rd Quarter
While I tend to be harsh on Westbrook, I can’t deny that he had a great 3rd quarter. He was a big reason for the Lakers getting back into the game, as his energy and hustle positively showed themselves last night. Let’s take a closer look into what exactly Westbrook did in that 3rd quarter to be so effective.
Westbrook’s third quarter wasn’t overly complicated. It was simply a masterclass in taking what the defense was giving him. I mean, these are wide-open looks.
And credit to Westbrook, he made these shots. He was confident and didn’t hesitate, making it look like he knew he was going to make them. If Westbrook can make these types of shots more often, it will do wonders for the Lakers’ offense.
Add in a few steals and assists, and Russell Westbrook played his finest quarter in the purple and gold.
18 points – 3 assists – 2 steals – 7/10 FG – 2/3 3/PT – +10 plus/minus
Quarters like these prove that Westbrook can work out with the Lakers. We just have to see quarters like these more often.
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks are also weird. While they are one of the more talented rosters in the NBA, they haven’t produced nearly as well as they should.
Their starting lineup has been awful this season, with the bench usually coming in to save the day. That was only semi-true today, however, the starters were ok in this game.
While they did squander a double-digit lead, the bench mob once again came up big late and the Knicks won.
Bing Bong
Da Bench
The New York Knicks have been getting saved by their bench this season. While the starting unit struggles to score, the bench unit always manages to keep them in games. Even with Derrick Rose out of this game, the bench mob did it again.
In the first half, it was Toppin and Burks. The two of them combined for 14 points and helped the Knicks keep their double-digit lead alive.
However, the biggest bench contributions came from IQ in the 4th quarter. Quickley and his new hair (3/10) were dormant for most of the evening. But just when the game seemed to be slipping away from the Knicks, he came through big time.
Quickley hit four three-pointers in the 4th, including back-to-back ones that put the game out of reach around the 5-minutes mark.
It was yet another game where the Knicks bench had to do the dirty work to get the job done. The Knicks certainly wouldn’t be 10-8 without this bench, so credit to them for making the Knicks look passable.
Knicks Bench This Season
40.7 PPG (2nd)
37.7 3-PT% (4th)
+80 (2nd)
The Knicks bench mob has been superb this season, one of the best units in all of the NBA. Now it’s time for the starters to start pulling their weight.
RJ Barrett Has Been Disappointing
After a great 2nd season, I think we all expected big things from RJ Barrett in 2022. He was one of my dark horses for the MIP award. But instead of a great season, Barrett has regressed to his rookie season, essentially.
Barrett’s great sophomore season shooting the ball has disappeared. While his defense has been an encouraging development, I have been dissatisfied with the level of production I’ve seen from him this season.
Shooting Regression
| Year | RA Shooting Splits | Paint (non-RA) Shooting Splits | Corner 3-PT Shooting Splits | ATB 3-PT Splits |
| 2020-21 | 55% – 5.7 attempts | 34% – 3.0 attempts | 43% – 1.9 attempts | 37% – 2.3 attempts |
| 2021-22 | 57% – 4.8 attempts | 22% – 2.6 attempts | 30% – 1.8 attempts | 33% – 3.7 attempts |
RA: Restricted Area
Barrett is shooting fewer shots at the rim, which doesn’t make much sense as he has been great right at the basket this season. He is not making his corner 3’s at the same rates he did last season. He’s also shooting way more 3’s from above the break, but they’re just not going down.
Barrett has gone from a 40% 3-PT shooter last season down to just 32% this season. His once great shooting has fallen off the side of the Empire State Building this season.
The Knicks need some more offense. With Julius Randle struggling, the next logical answer would be Barrett. We all expected big things from him in 2022, but he hasn’t delivered. He and Randle are struggling to make the shots that they were making last season.
The Knicks need Barrett to do more offensively, otherwise, it’ll be a repeat of last year’s disaster in the playoffs.
The Mavericks 4th Quarter/OT Offense Was Perfect
The ending to this Mavericks/Clippers game was marvelous. While I could talk about Paul George’s amazing game-winner for ages, I want to talk about Dallas’ great offense at the end of this game. They were giving the Clippers fits, making things look easy.
And the best part of all of this? Luka Doncic wasn’t doing all the work.
If you like an offense to vary in their playcalling, I suggest you don’t watch this 4th quarter. Dallas wasn’t running a play, but they were doing the same thing every single time. You’ll see what I mean in a second.
Off of a screen, the Clippers double team Doncic on the perimeter. He immediately gets the ball to Cauley-Stein down low. After a couple of good passes, it’s a wide-open shot for Dorian Finney-Smith.
This is something that Dallas needed last year in the playoffs, for guys to make the Clippers pay for doubling Luka. While they didn’t do it then, they did it a lot in the 4th quarter of this game.
This double-team makes things too easy for Dallas. Doncic simply passes off to Kleber and the ball eventually finds Hardaway Jr.
This play isn’t overly complicated. However, one simple action from the corner made this play work. If you watch the bottom left of your screen, you see Dorian Finney-Smith. As Kleber gets the ball, Smith cuts, and the Clippers have to cover him.
This causes some confusion and thus, an open shot for the Mavericks.
Now let’s get to overtime, where Dallas is just toying with LA at this point.
This one is just funny. The Clippers don’t want to double Luka anymore, but they just can’t resist it.
Marcus Morris wants to double team Luka, but as soon as he does it, he regrets it. Hardaway is left open and Reggie Jackson overhelps.
That leaves Maxi Kleber open, you know the rest.
Teams are going to do that to Dallas. They don’t want Luka to dominate them, so the other guys have to do that. Get the ball to the middle and make the right decision.
Dallas is capable of generating good looks when Luka isn’t doing everything. And when they get those open looks, they have to make them.
What Are Your Thoughts From Last Night’s Games? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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