RJ Barrett was nowhere to be found on the offensive end during the first half of the Knicks' double overtime win over the Celtics in Wednesday's season opener, but more importantly, his defensive assignment was nowhere to be seen the entire game.
Barrett, who has been widely praised for the defensive strides he has made over the offseason and in the preseason, shut down Boston star Jayson Tatum, holding him to a lowly 7-for-30 shooting clip, leading to 20 points in nearly 45 minutes of action.
"That's what I'm, here for," Barrett said after the game. "I always wanted to be a two-way player. So I'm gonna do that, I'm gonna be here guarding everybody every single game. Just trying to show that and prove I can be a two-way player for this team."
Barrett's perimeter defense on Tatum led to a 2-for-15 night from downtown for the two-time All-Star, and Barrett flexed his defense in the clutch again to end the first overtime, when he locked up Tatum on the perimeter, forced him to drive to his right and throw up a fadeaway baseline jumper that hit nothing but air to send the game to a second overtime, where the Knicks finally finished the job.
"It was really fun, man," Barrett said. "The Garden was crazy. It was electric…it was a great game, hard-fought, and we definitely tip our hats to them."
Barrett led all Knicks with 47 minutes, and while his offense took awhile to come around, it eventually did in a big way, as he erupted for 14 of his 19 points in the third quarter to help New York close the gap and begin the fourth quarter with a lead. He finished with a 6-of-11 shooting night from the field and made three of his seven 3-point attempts.
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"We have a great team," Barrett said. "Everybody on the staff and the bench, all the players, they had my back…all the vets just talking to me and getting me going, and that was great. And once I got going, they were feeding me. It's just a testament to this team."
Barrett will be looking to take another big step forward in his second year under Tom Thibodeau, but his head coach is clearly having a big impact on his defense, which is having a major effect on the Knicks as a whole.
"It's the start of something special, and hopefully we build on this," Barrett said.
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