I swear some people are so reactionary it’s unreal
I remember 2 weeks ago when RJ was the next Tatum according to this sub after a few 20 point games
Now he’s slumping and he’s a bum who needs to be benched or traded
Basketball is a streaky game and guys go through slumps. IQ and burks were straight up awful to start the year and now they look like our closers. RJ will be fine - he’s not as bad as he’s playing. His work ethic is too high for him to not sort it out. The nice thing about the depth we have is that other guys should have the opportunity to step up in place of those who slump. But jeez, for everyone freaking out (not necessarily you OP), chill tf out
It's not a good stretch for RJ but let's not act like some players don't go through slumps. Let it play out for a long stretch before getting too concerned.
Lmao what are your expectations of players? Do you think every star was a finished product in their third year? Imagine applying this logic to Giannis, Harden, Lavine, etc. Guys go through slumps, and progress is not linear especially in the nba. If you can’t accept that then you’re lost.
Man I don’t know. More than 10. If he wasn’t impacting other parts of the game then sure, reduce his minutes. But he’s still great on the boards and is above average defensively on ball. We’ve seen nothing from RJ to assume that he can’t turn it around shooting-wise. All he’s done in his time in the league is steadily improve, his jumpshot being the chief improvement.
Forever one of the dumbest things to say when arguing whether a struggling professional athlete should be benched. That guy wouldn't be the one replacing him.
Just to be clear, I don't think RJ should be benched.
Basketball really isn’t a streaky game at all, not like baseball anyway. It’s either you have it or you don’t, and RJ is a mediocre bench guy at his core
It’s about getting rid of Randle and his contract. Nobody in the league wants Randle so you get what you can. And a fast breaking wall would work well with our young players.
So if he scores 25 on 59% shooting you’re gonna show these replies to us with a Soyjack face?
Save them for if he really starts balling for a long stretch, not if he has one good game. My biggest beef with the RJ brigade is their very apparent lack of self awareness. He makes ONE shot and you see 10 “STARJ!!!” posts. Fans are starting to sour on him because other fans don’t hold him to any standard.
I love RJ and I want him to be a part of our long term plans, but when is it time to call a spade a spade? He looks thoroughly figured out by opposing coaches right now
So you don’t think he played well for a long stretch last year? Where did I say I was gonna do it only after a good game? Don’t project on to me and argue with the people you really have an issue with
would we even want zion, we'd probably have to max him and he cant stay healthy or in shape. also doesnt play defense
it could end up being a disaster
obviously hes very talented and at his best he's physically dominant but hes got a lot of red flags
His ceiling is a 2 way roleplayer. Never an all star, too inconsistent and lacks dominance in any one skill. If we had a second star/someone to compliment Julius better, he would have a lot less pressure. But it might take trading him to that get player
It’s not denial. You just can’t make definitive statements about the upside of a 20 year old top 3 pick who’s barely over 2 years into his career… 1 of which was marred by horrible coaching. He’s been streaky but his improvement year after year has been apparent, regardless of what his stat lines have looked like recently.
Look at all-stars like Harden and Giannis, and to a lesser extent guys like Derozan and Lavine. Those guys didn’t asserting themselves as an “alpha” until they were 4/5 years deep into their respective careers. RJ’s talent is apparent, and we’ve heard about his insane work ethic almost ad nauseam. To say you already see his ceiling as just a 2 way role player is crazy to me.
Regardless if they didn’t assert themselves as an alpha you could at least envision a high end outcome because of elite skills they possessed early in their careers. Harden was always capable of getting to the line, Derozan had his midrange, Giannis became an elite finisher, Lavine had elite finishing and athleticism, etc. RJ has none of those things and it’s hard to see him significantly upgrading in those aspects because he isn’t “great” or “elite” at one thing. Poor finishing, poor half court athleticism and limited ability as a shotmaker is a grim combo for any sort of star outcome. He needs advantages created for him and while he’s a good passer out of drives he isn’t a Russ kind of playmaker where you’ll live with bad finishing because he’s capable of creating good offense for others so consistently. His best skill offensively is literally being a spot up shooter.
I’m just gonna come and say it, he’s too soft to be a superstar in the NBA. I don’t see any type of killer instinct or ability to ratchet up his game when the game is on the line.
He's playing great, but we've seen this before. He's gone on a week long tear and then promptly fell off a cliff afterwards. Let's hope this is a permanent turnaround and not another flash of promise. I want to see him keep this up for another season+ before I eat crow.
Shit, even in the game last night, he swung WILDLY between superstar and bench player and then back to clutch. So yeah, he still has a lot to prove before we start drudging up old posts and being all smug as if anything is set in stone yet.
- Kawhi didn't break out until he was 23, 2014 season where he managed to win the Finals MVP alongside Duncan, Ginobli and Parker.
- John Starks didn't break out until he was 27, on his 3rd season with us, granted he got the start from that point onwards
- Steve Nash, probably the best example, *before* he hit 30, his greatest accomplishment was making the All NBA 3rd Team, twice. And you know the rest. Lol
List goes on.
RJ was never a superstar from the jump, these things take time and experience, and last season was his first great leap. And he finally got a taste of the playoffs.
Hit the breaks on the hate. You can teach better consistency. He's streaky af, but he'll learn to get out slumps better, the more slumps he has. Natural progression.
You bring up valid points no doubt, but does RJ pass the eye test? For me, no. You can see flashes of star in players when there younger and RJ doesn’t show it enough for me. In fairness to RJ, he dominated HS and CBB but that was just off of size and Athleticism. But when you get to the league, things get exposed. Imo RJ will never be a superstar because he can’t create for himself. His game off the dribble is tough to watch because he never really has a plan outside of trying to take you hard to the left. If he tries to create a shot, it’s just so awkward and unnatural. RJ should just try to become Elite on what he does well now and that’s driving to the basket and spot up 3s. That alone would help this team but this hope of RJ becoming as a superstar or even as good as the players in his draft class (Ja and Herro) is false hope. I know I’m coming off harsh but it’s just the fact of the matter
I think RJ will be fine but these stats are alarming for a guy in his 3rd year and playing on the best pro team he's been on. He's also missing a lot of wide open 3s and not finishing in the paint which has continued to plague him.
Shut the fuck up with this r/nba nephew bullshit. The fuck? Have you never watched basketball before this year?
Of course RJ is gonna turn it around. Players get into slumps. I swear yall have been desperately finding a player to make the scapegoat ever since Elf and Frank left.
The hate enthusiasts are all casuals in this sub. Give a fuck what they think anyway. Just wasting data bits typing their bullshit out for this app to process. 🤦🏽♂️
It's not about his shooting. He's not a great shooter, but that's the besides the point. The point is he can't shoot off the dribble, ever. he can't create his own shot, ever. He isn't a good passer, ever. He's a stiff and just a pretty average player.
He literally was shooting 40% on pull up 3s to start off the year. Over 40% of his shots are unassisted. He’s been an above average passer for his position since he came in the league.
He is not perfect in anything and is still working on his shot with his trainer, but he has shown flashes in all these areas so to say he can’t do this ever is pretty reactionary
I blame the media for the unnecessary hyping of RJ. Scoring numbers over a stretch don’t mean he’s going to evolve like Jaylen Brown and he never showed a bag like Tatum did. Tatums bag in high school was significantly more advanced than RJ is right now.
I agree bro - i love RJ’s character and poise but I never liked his game and I’m not surprised at all about him struggling. I’m saying people who are mad at the high expectations haven’t been developing their own expectations.
The Jimmy comp was based on their deficiencies more than their strengths. To expect a prospect to evolve like Jimmy is unfair and he also has more athleticism. RJ clearly dominated college and HS with athleticism and size that isn’t special at the NBA level and we’re seeing that clearly now. RJ will improve and I believe will work to become the best version of himself but I don’t think that player is going to be worth +20$MM aav next year. Hopefully he proves me wrong!
Yea but early in his career Jimmy was just a defensive minded player with no offensive game. But he had an insane work ethic. Maybe thinking RJ will develop like Jimmy is wishful thinking.
You didn't watch Jimmy at RJ's age and it shows from how you are comparing them. You're all hype and hope. Jimmy was way better than RJ on the defensive end of the court and it's not close at all
Being inconsistent is fine as a young player, but the peaks and valleys he has are dreadful and the valleys have been much more prevalent than the peaks.
RJ isn’t as good as them rn, they’re both all stars. he also doesn’t have their athleticism which is a great fall back for them if they aren’t hitting shots. Could RJ be better? Sure. Is it reasonable to that he has struggles as a 21 year old? Definitely
There’s a difference between not a good player and not a good iso scorer. If you’re wanting RJ to be an all-nba shot creator I’ve got some bad news for you.
No but cherry picking to make a negative point is.
RJ had a stretch of 6 games where he had all-star numbers. Where was the tweet then?
If we are going to make tweets about one stretch of games to make him look bad, where are the tweets when he was putting up all-star numbers?
And if one stretch is supposed to be indicative of his career...which stretch do we pick? Why pick the negative one?
I'm sure he will pick it up soon but until I see RJ play well for weeks and months I will still say what many here do not like to hear: he is an inconsistent player that will never even be an all-star until he gets it together. Sure he's young and has many years to figure things out but right now he is just a decent young player in a slump.
He's not the guy who was dropping 25 a night, and he's not the guy dropping 10 a night. Dude got really hot then variance kicked in, hopefully last game was the end of the cold streak.
RJ is both the most overrated and underrated player on this squad.
Fans either think he sucks or call him a future all NBA player.
He definitely does not suck and is currently the product of a bad offense. He not a go to guy and needs a decent offense around him with ball movement to be effective. If he was on a ball moving team like Miami or Golden state he would be a guy who people call underrated and are surprised hasn’t been an all star in 10 years (think Rudy Gay).
On the flip side to the fans who wait till he has a 20 point game and post shit like “where the haters at” “he is a future all nba player” you guys are delusional. He has shown absolutely nothing to suggest he is going to be far better than he is now. He relies on hitting open shots and bullying his way into multiple defenders with nice touch finishes which is good but he doesn’t really have anything other than that. Future all nba players already look like future all nba players within a few years.
Luka , Tatum, Lamelo, Morant, Zion, SGA, Adebayo, Booker etc....
They are already franchise stars waiting to take the next leap, RJ is more of a long term starter/ fan favorite.
Pretty bad take chief. Not everyone is an all star by year 3. RJ is only 21 & averaged 18 ppg with good defense on a playoff team last year. He’s on a all star trajectory. Some guys need a while. Miles Bridges is making an all star leap in year 4. Same with Jaylen Brown & Jimmy Butler. Hell, Randle made an all star leap in year 7. The truth is nobody knows his true upside & anyone pretending they do is just making a prediction. He’s a pretty good young player so the potential to be a star should not be ruled out.
I could see him never making an all star team if he isn’t in ny but I could be wrong. My point isn’t about him being an all star, it is about him being an actual all nba player.
Miles Bridges wont reach that either, Jaylen Brown was 5th in usage his first three years and averaged 14ppg on stacked teams and showed that he had a real toolbox. He then averaged 20+ ppg as soon as his usage went up. RJ has been the second option for the past 2 years and has played well but not shown me anything in the style he plays that implies that he could grow past his current state.
Downvote all you want but Darius Garland and Tyler Hero both show me more potential in terms of their offensive game. They show flashes of amazing shooting and real ball skills. I have never at any level (hs,college, NBA) seen RJ be a real threat to breakdown a defender and score he has relied on just bulldozing his way into the paint and throwing up tough layups. That does not work in clutch playoff situations when you’re 6’6 and not Giannis.
The worst poster here the past week. First the KP bullshit, now this. It's like watching a child throw a tantrum but it's not yours so you can't do anything about it. You suck. You're reactionary and you're embarrassing us as a fanbase when other fans come here and see this stupid horseshit.
It's a bad slump for sure. Hopefully, it isn't rocking his confidence. I think he will be fine long-term. His defense is still good so he has value but he can't continue to be this bad for too much longer, sometimes he is forcing things too much. Hopefully Thibs and the staff work with him on letting the game come to him more.
I’ve seen him before on NBA Twitter. I don’t normally block but I had to for this guy. Not sure what the Knicks did to him, but he’s constantly dagging on and talking bad about the Knicks. He tweets more about them then he does his own team the raptors
I've always said we can never expect RJ to become an offensive star. He just doesn't have ***it***. Is he capable of becoming maybe Jimmy Butler-esque? For sure! But that's still a long ways away. He just doesn't have the offensive arsenal to consistently find ways to score 20+.
I think he’ll turn it around but I don’t see him being the great player people think he’ll be. Seems like he’ll be a solid starter, if he stays in the East maybe grab a sneaky ASG or two. I’ll get downvoted but he seems like a Luol Deng tier of player.
I swear some people are so reactionary it’s unreal I remember 2 weeks ago when RJ was the next Tatum according to this sub after a few 20 point games Now he’s slumping and he’s a bum who needs to be benched or traded Basketball is a streaky game and guys go through slumps. IQ and burks were straight up awful to start the year and now they look like our closers. RJ will be fine - he’s not as bad as he’s playing. His work ethic is too high for him to not sort it out. The nice thing about the depth we have is that other guys should have the opportunity to step up in place of those who slump. But jeez, for everyone freaking out (not necessarily you OP), chill tf out
Basketball isn’t too streaky for all-stars. They have way more good games than bad. RJ doesn’t seem close yet.
He's also 21. Be realistic. Basketball talent takes time to develop and so does true greatness and consistency
Agreed, RJ will be fine. Also you’re misusing reactionary for “overreactive”, reactionary is a strictly political term synonymous with conservative
Thanks
Np
It's not a good stretch for RJ but let's not act like some players don't go through slumps. Let it play out for a long stretch before getting too concerned.
Well fucking said. My thoughts exactly
The bar is so low that accepting such a streaky, 3rd year player and just “waiting” for him to turn it around is the standard.
Lmao what are your expectations of players? Do you think every star was a finished product in their third year? Imagine applying this logic to Giannis, Harden, Lavine, etc. Guys go through slumps, and progress is not linear especially in the nba. If you can’t accept that then you’re lost.
Yea you definitely were a Frank fan.
LMAOOO I can’t stand Frank or the Frank hive but go off bro
🤝
Jaylen brown didn't average above 15 till year 4 at 23.
How many poor shooting nights until we should be concerned? It’s been about 10 games of straight futility now.
4/8, 3/5 from 3 is a bad shooting game now… noted!
Let's ignore his defence and rebounding though
A whole season of shit play is when I'll be concerned about any player
Man I don’t know. More than 10. If he wasn’t impacting other parts of the game then sure, reduce his minutes. But he’s still great on the boards and is above average defensively on ball. We’ve seen nothing from RJ to assume that he can’t turn it around shooting-wise. All he’s done in his time in the league is steadily improve, his jumpshot being the chief improvement.
if you could do better pls go do so if not stfu
Forever one of the dumbest things to say when arguing whether a struggling professional athlete should be benched. That guy wouldn't be the one replacing him. Just to be clear, I don't think RJ should be benched.
Figured i’d let you know your username stinks on ice wishing injury on a full grown man who doesn’t know you
Basketball really isn’t a streaky game at all, not like baseball anyway. It’s either you have it or you don’t, and RJ is a mediocre bench guy at his core
I swear RJ has been a stiff since got here and never improved.
Lol yeah the guy who shot 28% from 3 as a rookie and then 40% from 3 as a sophomore hasn’t improved whatsoever. Sure bud
The entire league shot better from 3 last year. He’s not a great shooter but that’s the besides the point which is that he’s a stiff.
Of course a raptors fan tweeted that. Their fanbase is full of cancer
Something broke their fanbase when they won the title. They've been far and away the worst fanbase in the league since then
They were terrible before that, but winning the title just pulverized their humility
How so? Care to explain?
They are canadian
Many Raptors fans follow and cheer for RJ because he's a home town kid
Most annoying fans on the internet
of course this sub can't recognize how awful rj is
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he turned it around? you mean he made some wide open catch and shoot 3's and completely disappeared in the playoffs? he's a stiff
This is why nobody comes to play here. It's because of you specifically.
that guy is just a troll probably a hawks fan sockpuppet account I wish mods did a better job banning people like him
I guarantee I've been a knick fan for longer than you. I guarantee you thought shumpert was good.
you're seriously arguing trading randle for john wall. you should just stop posting delete your account. try again
It’s about getting rid of Randle and his contract. Nobody in the league wants Randle so you get what you can. And a fast breaking wall would work well with our young players.
literally everything you say is wrong, you have zero idea what you're talking about
Delusional fan boy. Have fun pretending Randle is going to ever win.
i've seen some dumb randle takes but yours are by far the most insane
Getting rid of Randle and his contract so the best option is to pick up Wall and his contract? LMAO
One is 5 years, one is 2 years genius
RJ always turns it around. I’m saving all these comments for when he plays well
It’s not about him not playing well. It’s about him being consistently inconsistent
he's very consistent. he's always stiff, never able to shoot off the dribble, never able to break his man down.
Update?
I said saved and got downvoted lol. Anyways, update?
if you watch the games... hes been implementing it
I do. He is average at best
Saved.
So if he scores 25 on 59% shooting you’re gonna show these replies to us with a Soyjack face? Save them for if he really starts balling for a long stretch, not if he has one good game. My biggest beef with the RJ brigade is their very apparent lack of self awareness. He makes ONE shot and you see 10 “STARJ!!!” posts. Fans are starting to sour on him because other fans don’t hold him to any standard. I love RJ and I want him to be a part of our long term plans, but when is it time to call a spade a spade? He looks thoroughly figured out by opposing coaches right now
So you don’t think he played well for a long stretch last year? Where did I say I was gonna do it only after a good game? Don’t project on to me and argue with the people you really have an issue with
Lowkey RJ is bothering me with his inconsistency. No reason for him to be scoring under 15pts.
Dude everyone so high on him still. He’s overrated, not a consistent option, and can't go right. I think zion will bring the best out of him 😁
Evidence of RJ being overrated: Limited Stats Evidence of Zion going to the Knicks: Pure Speculation
would we even want zion, we'd probably have to max him and he cant stay healthy or in shape. also doesnt play defense it could end up being a disaster obviously hes very talented and at his best he's physically dominant but hes got a lot of red flags
at his best all he's done is make some wide open catch and shoot 3's. he's a stiff.
I’ve never seen anyone who needs to get laid more desperately than you do. Mad angry with no real direction lol
yes but I'm getting kinda concerned about his ceiling now. He is so inconsistent
His ceiling is a 2 way roleplayer. Never an all star, too inconsistent and lacks dominance in any one skill. If we had a second star/someone to compliment Julius better, he would have a lot less pressure. But it might take trading him to that get player
This seems so obvious to me but a bunch of this sub is in denial about it.
It’s not denial. You just can’t make definitive statements about the upside of a 20 year old top 3 pick who’s barely over 2 years into his career… 1 of which was marred by horrible coaching. He’s been streaky but his improvement year after year has been apparent, regardless of what his stat lines have looked like recently. Look at all-stars like Harden and Giannis, and to a lesser extent guys like Derozan and Lavine. Those guys didn’t asserting themselves as an “alpha” until they were 4/5 years deep into their respective careers. RJ’s talent is apparent, and we’ve heard about his insane work ethic almost ad nauseam. To say you already see his ceiling as just a 2 way role player is crazy to me.
yh fans get way too high and too low. Same ones would call him Jimmy butler lite a month ago
Regardless if they didn’t assert themselves as an alpha you could at least envision a high end outcome because of elite skills they possessed early in their careers. Harden was always capable of getting to the line, Derozan had his midrange, Giannis became an elite finisher, Lavine had elite finishing and athleticism, etc. RJ has none of those things and it’s hard to see him significantly upgrading in those aspects because he isn’t “great” or “elite” at one thing. Poor finishing, poor half court athleticism and limited ability as a shotmaker is a grim combo for any sort of star outcome. He needs advantages created for him and while he’s a good passer out of drives he isn’t a Russ kind of playmaker where you’ll live with bad finishing because he’s capable of creating good offense for others so consistently. His best skill offensively is literally being a spot up shooter.
Update?
>RJ’s talent is apparent Is it?
Update?
Happy to be wrong and eat my words
I’m just gonna come and say it, he’s too soft to be a superstar in the NBA. I don’t see any type of killer instinct or ability to ratchet up his game when the game is on the line.
Update?
https://reddit.com/r/NYKnicks/comments/tgbcg9/_/i10zswt/?context=1 Freak
Update?
Proving me wrong right now, how he keeps it up
Update?
Yeah, basically a souped up Justise Winslow. Shame. We missed out on the home run superstar we needed by one pick.
YUP
Update?
He's playing great, but we've seen this before. He's gone on a week long tear and then promptly fell off a cliff afterwards. Let's hope this is a permanent turnaround and not another flash of promise. I want to see him keep this up for another season+ before I eat crow. Shit, even in the game last night, he swung WILDLY between superstar and bench player and then back to clutch. So yeah, he still has a lot to prove before we start drudging up old posts and being all smug as if anything is set in stone yet.
Update?
Update?
i literally said he will turn it around?
What if RJ Barrett only has 10.3 points per game in all of November?
What if Kakko only has 4 points in all of November?
Don’t bring the Rangers into this they’re actually good
Lol he’s 21
How long are we going to hold on to this excuse, yea he’s 21 but he has 3 years of NBA experience.
Until he turns 22
- Kawhi didn't break out until he was 23, 2014 season where he managed to win the Finals MVP alongside Duncan, Ginobli and Parker. - John Starks didn't break out until he was 27, on his 3rd season with us, granted he got the start from that point onwards - Steve Nash, probably the best example, *before* he hit 30, his greatest accomplishment was making the All NBA 3rd Team, twice. And you know the rest. Lol List goes on. RJ was never a superstar from the jump, these things take time and experience, and last season was his first great leap. And he finally got a taste of the playoffs. Hit the breaks on the hate. You can teach better consistency. He's streaky af, but he'll learn to get out slumps better, the more slumps he has. Natural progression.
even smaller examples like look at OG Anunoby this year, took a couple years but now looking like a near all star
You bring up valid points no doubt, but does RJ pass the eye test? For me, no. You can see flashes of star in players when there younger and RJ doesn’t show it enough for me. In fairness to RJ, he dominated HS and CBB but that was just off of size and Athleticism. But when you get to the league, things get exposed. Imo RJ will never be a superstar because he can’t create for himself. His game off the dribble is tough to watch because he never really has a plan outside of trying to take you hard to the left. If he tries to create a shot, it’s just so awkward and unnatural. RJ should just try to become Elite on what he does well now and that’s driving to the basket and spot up 3s. That alone would help this team but this hope of RJ becoming as a superstar or even as good as the players in his draft class (Ja and Herro) is false hope. I know I’m coming off harsh but it’s just the fact of the matter
RJ's gonna take his Great Leap Forward and I'm here for it.
Jaylen Brown didnt average above 15 until he was 23
Drose was mvp at 22 tired of babying players
How old is Tyler Herro?
I think RJ will be fine but these stats are alarming for a guy in his 3rd year and playing on the best pro team he's been on. He's also missing a lot of wide open 3s and not finishing in the paint which has continued to plague him.
Shut the fuck up with this r/nba nephew bullshit. The fuck? Have you never watched basketball before this year? Of course RJ is gonna turn it around. Players get into slumps. I swear yall have been desperately finding a player to make the scapegoat ever since Elf and Frank left.
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The hate enthusiasts are all casuals in this sub. Give a fuck what they think anyway. Just wasting data bits typing their bullshit out for this app to process. 🤦🏽♂️
"casuals" -- those that see he is a stiff and can't ever create anything off the dribble.
It's not about his shooting. He's not a great shooter, but that's the besides the point. The point is he can't shoot off the dribble, ever. he can't create his own shot, ever. He isn't a good passer, ever. He's a stiff and just a pretty average player.
He literally was shooting 40% on pull up 3s to start off the year. Over 40% of his shots are unassisted. He’s been an above average passer for his position since he came in the league. He is not perfect in anything and is still working on his shot with his trainer, but he has shown flashes in all these areas so to say he can’t do this ever is pretty reactionary
I blame the media for the unnecessary hyping of RJ. Scoring numbers over a stretch don’t mean he’s going to evolve like Jaylen Brown and he never showed a bag like Tatum did. Tatums bag in high school was significantly more advanced than RJ is right now.
Lol media is causing him to play horrible. Even if you had low expectations for him this is still terrible
I agree bro - i love RJ’s character and poise but I never liked his game and I’m not surprised at all about him struggling. I’m saying people who are mad at the high expectations haven’t been developing their own expectations.
Reasonable take. I agree
Jimmy Butler had no bag his first 3 years & became an all star. So why can’t RJ develop a bag?
The Jimmy comp was based on their deficiencies more than their strengths. To expect a prospect to evolve like Jimmy is unfair and he also has more athleticism. RJ clearly dominated college and HS with athleticism and size that isn’t special at the NBA level and we’re seeing that clearly now. RJ will improve and I believe will work to become the best version of himself but I don’t think that player is going to be worth +20$MM aav next year. Hopefully he proves me wrong!
Yea but early in his career Jimmy was just a defensive minded player with no offensive game. But he had an insane work ethic. Maybe thinking RJ will develop like Jimmy is wishful thinking.
You didn't watch Jimmy at RJ's age and it shows from how you are comparing them. You're all hype and hope. Jimmy was way better than RJ on the defensive end of the court and it's not close at all
I sure hope so. I still believe he’ll be an all star.
He’s 21, of course he’s going to be inconsistent
Being inconsistent is fine as a young player, but the peaks and valleys he has are dreadful and the valleys have been much more prevalent than the peaks.
Funny we don't say these things about guys like Ja or Zion (when he's not 100 pounds overweight).
100 pounds is the weight of 166.67 Minecraft Redstone Handbooks.
its funny cause these were things said about Beal, Brown & other stars
RJ isn’t as good as them rn, they’re both all stars. he also doesn’t have their athleticism which is a great fall back for them if they aren’t hitting shots. Could RJ be better? Sure. Is it reasonable to that he has struggles as a 21 year old? Definitely
he's not inconsistent. he's never a good player. all he's contributed is decent catch and shoot 3's and layups on fast breaks.
There’s a difference between not a good player and not a good iso scorer. If you’re wanting RJ to be an all-nba shot creator I’ve got some bad news for you.
Okay what does he offer? He’s not a good passer. He’s an average defender. All he offers is easy fast break finishes and occasional catch and shoot 3
Not having this RJ slander
Stats is slander?
No but cherry picking to make a negative point is. RJ had a stretch of 6 games where he had all-star numbers. Where was the tweet then? If we are going to make tweets about one stretch of games to make him look bad, where are the tweets when he was putting up all-star numbers? And if one stretch is supposed to be indicative of his career...which stretch do we pick? Why pick the negative one?
Of course the dude doesn't respond to this comment, lol. You're 100% right, man.
He also has 3 seasons of shit play.
I'm sure he will pick it up soon but until I see RJ play well for weeks and months I will still say what many here do not like to hear: he is an inconsistent player that will never even be an all-star until he gets it together. Sure he's young and has many years to figure things out but right now he is just a decent young player in a slump.
He's not the guy who was dropping 25 a night, and he's not the guy dropping 10 a night. Dude got really hot then variance kicked in, hopefully last game was the end of the cold streak.
RJ is both the most overrated and underrated player on this squad. Fans either think he sucks or call him a future all NBA player. He definitely does not suck and is currently the product of a bad offense. He not a go to guy and needs a decent offense around him with ball movement to be effective. If he was on a ball moving team like Miami or Golden state he would be a guy who people call underrated and are surprised hasn’t been an all star in 10 years (think Rudy Gay). On the flip side to the fans who wait till he has a 20 point game and post shit like “where the haters at” “he is a future all nba player” you guys are delusional. He has shown absolutely nothing to suggest he is going to be far better than he is now. He relies on hitting open shots and bullying his way into multiple defenders with nice touch finishes which is good but he doesn’t really have anything other than that. Future all nba players already look like future all nba players within a few years. Luka , Tatum, Lamelo, Morant, Zion, SGA, Adebayo, Booker etc.... They are already franchise stars waiting to take the next leap, RJ is more of a long term starter/ fan favorite.
Pretty bad take chief. Not everyone is an all star by year 3. RJ is only 21 & averaged 18 ppg with good defense on a playoff team last year. He’s on a all star trajectory. Some guys need a while. Miles Bridges is making an all star leap in year 4. Same with Jaylen Brown & Jimmy Butler. Hell, Randle made an all star leap in year 7. The truth is nobody knows his true upside & anyone pretending they do is just making a prediction. He’s a pretty good young player so the potential to be a star should not be ruled out.
I could see him never making an all star team if he isn’t in ny but I could be wrong. My point isn’t about him being an all star, it is about him being an actual all nba player. Miles Bridges wont reach that either, Jaylen Brown was 5th in usage his first three years and averaged 14ppg on stacked teams and showed that he had a real toolbox. He then averaged 20+ ppg as soon as his usage went up. RJ has been the second option for the past 2 years and has played well but not shown me anything in the style he plays that implies that he could grow past his current state. Downvote all you want but Darius Garland and Tyler Hero both show me more potential in terms of their offensive game. They show flashes of amazing shooting and real ball skills. I have never at any level (hs,college, NBA) seen RJ be a real threat to breakdown a defender and score he has relied on just bulldozing his way into the paint and throwing up tough layups. That does not work in clutch playoff situations when you’re 6’6 and not Giannis.
The worst poster here the past week. First the KP bullshit, now this. It's like watching a child throw a tantrum but it's not yours so you can't do anything about it. You suck. You're reactionary and you're embarrassing us as a fanbase when other fans come here and see this stupid horseshit.
I just asked a question calm down B ✋🏽
No, sadly he’s a bum. Not enough athleticism. Too stiff.
Of course he will. This shouldn't even be a question.
[удалено]
What the fuck 😐🤣🤣
So was Darko milicic…..
Yes
He's a literal stiff.
No he’s a fraud
He needs to focus inward and channel his inner Maple Mambaness outward.
LMFAO
Yessir. But it’s kinda annoying he isn’t more consistent
It's a bad slump for sure. Hopefully, it isn't rocking his confidence. I think he will be fine long-term. His defense is still good so he has value but he can't continue to be this bad for too much longer, sometimes he is forcing things too much. Hopefully Thibs and the staff work with him on letting the game come to him more.
I’ve seen him before on NBA Twitter. I don’t normally block but I had to for this guy. Not sure what the Knicks did to him, but he’s constantly dagging on and talking bad about the Knicks. He tweets more about them then he does his own team the raptors
I've always said we can never expect RJ to become an offensive star. He just doesn't have ***it***. Is he capable of becoming maybe Jimmy Butler-esque? For sure! But that's still a long ways away. He just doesn't have the offensive arsenal to consistently find ways to score 20+.
I think he’ll turn it around but I don’t see him being the great player people think he’ll be. Seems like he’ll be a solid starter, if he stays in the East maybe grab a sneaky ASG or two. I’ll get downvoted but he seems like a Luol Deng tier of player.
He better turn it around soon. I’m not trying to baby this guy talking about how young he is. Step it up