Doc Rivers

Marked Man: RJ Barrett unfazed as Knicks host Doc Rivers’ 76ers

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New York Knicks, RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett will be a marked man when the New York Knicks host the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday night in their home opener at a fan-less Madison Square Garden.

But with or without fans, Barrett is ready to protect homecourt in The Garden, which he called “the best place to play basketball.”

Barrett is off to a solid start, leading the Knicks with 26 points on an efficient 11-of-15 shooting in a losing effort in Indiana.

The 76ers are expected to key in on the Canadian wingman on defense. But Barrett is unfazed.

“I think basketball is basketball. It’s a great system that we’re trying to run offensively. We have the whole team. If we move the ball, play together, I feel it’s going to be tough to keying anybody on the team,” Barrett told reporters on his zoom call after morning shootaround.

Playmaker and shotmaker

With their rookies Immanuel Quickley (hip pointer) and Obi Toppin (sore right calf) doubtful to play against the 76ers, Barrett is expected to take on a larger role. His five assists against the Pacers was a great indication that he can also be a playmaker on top of being the Knicks’ best shotmaker. That will be critical as defenses will start to pay extra attention to him the way Pacers did in the second half.

Barrett only scored six points after exploding for 20 in the opening half last Wednesday.

“They started playing the pick and roll differently, but like [coach] Thibs said, ‘we gotta adjust, and we gotta learn how to deal with when they start doing that.’ And that’s just part of growing up, being in a team. Just learning what to do in those situations and still be successful,” said the 20-year old Barrett.

Improved outside shooting

After getting snubbed in the All-Rookie Teams, the 2019 third overall pick took it personally. He attacked the offseason with a chip on his shoulder.

And the initial results have been encouraging. Criticized for his inefficiency and the lack of an outside shot in his arsenal, Barrett has responded with perfect 3-for-3 shooting from deep against the Pacers.

Asked what changed, Barrett pointed to experience as the best teacher.

“[I really improved on] Just a year of having experience. Just being able to know a little about the nuances of the game,” said the 20-year old Barrett.

Knowing now what to expect on defense, Barrett is beginning to play loose and relaxed.

Newfound confidence

Theo Pinson, who watched Barrett from the borough across Manhattan when he was still with the Brooklyn Nets last season, saw that change in the Knicks’ 2019 third overall pick.

“Just confidence. That’s the biggest thing in the world. You can tell the game has slowed down for [Barrett]. He’s letting the game come to him. When you get that one year under your belt, you just feel more relaxed,” Pinson said.

But Barrett knows it’s just one game, and much like the team as a whole, he is focused on only one thing.

“I definitely still need to get better. I’m nowhere near to where I want to be,” Barrett said.

He epitomizes what these young Knicks are undertaking in Tom Thibodeau’s first year.

Grow and get better each game.

Thibodeau said they were able to play 24 minutes of good basketball in Indiana. But that won’t cut it in this league.

“[We’re] Just trying to be a 48-minute team. That’s what we’re stressing. [To play] Elite level of basketball the whole game,” Barrett said.

Thibs, Austin vs. Doc

The Knicks’ season home opener will also pit Thibodeau against his former mentor in Boston and a good friend, Doc Rivers.

During his 18-month exile from the league, Thibodeau visited and observed Rivers and his former team Los Angeles Clippers.

Doc Rivers, who once played for the Knicks, was also instrumental in pushing his son, Austin, to go to New York instead of joining him in Philadelphia.

Austin Rivers is said to be progressing towards a return from a groin injury. It’s going to be interesting if he makes his Knicks debut against his father.

Maxey’s Garden debut

The Knicks will also have a good look at Tyrese Maxey, Quickley’s teammate at Kentucky, and one of the guards they passed up in the draft.

Maxey came off the bench and produced six points, two rebounds, and two assists in more than 10 minutes in his NBA debut.

Too bad Maxey won’t face Quickley in what could be a great matchup in the battle of second units.

Follow this writer on Twitter: @alderalmo

The New York Knicks have Doc Rivers to think for Austin Rivers’ services

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New York Knicks, Austin Rivers

The New York Knicks didn’t have much appeal this past off-season, and with training camp underway, it seems like the current roster will likely be similar to their opening game unit.

One thing is for sure, the Knicks have bolstered their team with plenty of guards, despite not picking one with quality options on the board. Instead, they selected Obi Toppin with the eighth overall pick, passing on a bevy of likely upgrades at PG.

They settled for Immanuel Quickley with the 25th pick, and while some argue he can be a point guard in the NBA, he is more of a shooting guard who can spread the floor and move well in transition.

That leads us to Austin Rivers, who represents a solid shooting guard the Knicks tried to sign back in 2015. However, his father, Doc Rivers, finally convinced his son to join the ranks in New York under head coach Tom Thibodeau.

“He was high on Philly’s list before I took the job,’’ Doc Rivers said, per the New York Post. “It was one of the guards they wanted. When I took the job, I said, ‘You don’t want that. You got too many other things we have to deal with.’ For Austin it’s better. He’s his own player. Unfortunately for him, me being the dad, he’s just an easy guy to target. I have felt since the separation, it’s been really good for him.’’

Rivers will have a fantastic opportunity to compete for starting minutes with the Knicks, who don’t have a solidified roster at this point. Last season with the Houston Rockets, Rivers averaged 8.8 points, 1.7 assists, and 2.6 total rebounds on 23.4 minutes per game. He’s not much of an assist-man, which suggests he better fits a shooting guard mold than point guard. He did average .421 from the floor and .356 from three.

“I kept telling him, ‘New York is a great place,’’’ Doc Rivers said. “I had a great experience there. That’s what I shared with him. It’s a tough city — in a positive way. He said, ‘What do you mean by that?’ I said, ‘It’s similar to Boston and Philly. Their fans are real. They want you to play hard, give you everything you can and play like a team.’ I told him, ‘The Knicks fans are still Red Holzman’s Knicks fans. They remember how that basketball was played. They want team basketball, hard-nosed, tough basketball.’”

If there’s one thing Rivers got right, it is that the fans demand more from an organization that has been embarrassing the last decade or so.

Knicks fans are tired of waiting around for the team to turn a corner; while other New York sports are on the rise, the team seems to find ways to fall behind.

Securing Thibodeau as their next head coach is a big deal, and new president Leon Rose has focused on acquiring draft selections for the future. It finally seems as if the Knicks are headed in a direction that doesn’t include stumbling five steps backward. They are setting themselves up for the future and the acquisition of big-name talents.

As for Thibodeau, his primary goal is to field a team that is capable of winning games, regardless of young player development and progression. He is not here to play babysitter but help develop players while winning in the NBA.

“Tom just likes competitive players — always has,’’ Doc Rivers said. “We’re very similar — give us 12 competitors, we’ll figure it out. Whenever we talked about Austin — and we will a lot less now — Thibs loves competitors.’’

Preseason games expected to provide clues to Knicks backcourt riddle

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New York Knicks, Austin Rivers

Exactly nine months since they played their last game, the New York Knicks will finally be back on the court on Dec. 11.

The Knicks, who last saw action last March 11 — an overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks — will have four preseason games before the new season tips off on Dec. 22.

The four-game schedule includes back-to-back road games against the Detroit Pistons (Dec. 11 and Dec. 13) and a pair of home games against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Madison Square Garden Dec. 16 and Dec. 18. Fans will not be permitted to watch the games at the venue.

New head coach Tom Thibodeau will finally have the chance to size up his young Knicks roster.

All eyes will be on the Knicks’ slam-dunking lottery pick Obi Toppin, who will have the early opportunity to show up the Pistons and the Cavaliers, two teams who passed up on him in the draft.

Battle of the Point Guards

But on top of that, fans will be anxious to see how Thibodeau will try to answer the Knicks’ backcourt riddle with at least five point guards competing for the starter job.

 

Expected to top that list is veteran guard Austin Rivers.

The Knicks officially announced Friday that Rivers, 28, was acquired in a sign-and-trade with the Houston Rockets that also netted the Knicks the draft rights to former Euroleague MVP Sergio Gull, former Adriatic League MVP Tadija Dragicevic, and Belgian player Axel Hervelle in exchange for the draft rights to Issuf Sanon.

Rivers will come to New York 29 years since his father, Doc, became a fan favorite at The Garden during a span of two-plus seasons from 1992-94.

Thibodeau would later work under Doc Rivers in Boston, winning a championship in 2008. The two coaches have remained friends. Thibodeau is said to be a fan of Austin’s basketball IQ even when he was still playing for Duke.

Rivers, a former lottery pick in 2012 who turned into a journeyman, will have a chance to star in a young Knicks team looking for stability and leadership at the backcourt.

Rivers agreed to a three-year, $10 million deal with the last two years non-guaranteed. He averaged 8.8 points on a 42.1 percent shooting clip and 35.6 percent beyond the arc, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 23.4 minutes as a backup guard in Houston last season.

Expected to crowd him are holdovers Dennis Smith, Jr., who worked on his jump shot during the long lull with former NBA gunner Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Frank Ntilikina, last year’s starter Elfrid Payton, and rookie Immanuel Quickley.

Follow this writer on Twitter: @alderalmo