TORONTO, Ont. (February 4, 2021) - New York Knicks forward RJ Barrett is approaching his sophomore season in the NBA like a student who is in school eager to learn more. “I’m just trying to work on everything,” Barrett said after a recent win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “Whatever is presented in a specific game, [I’m] trying to use it to the best of my abilities … I’m trying as much as I can.” His efforts thus far are paying off big for the Knicks as his strong play and expanding game continues to be a bright spot in New York 22 games into the season.

Though the Knicks have lost five of their last seven games following a three-game winning streak, Barrett is averaging 17.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game this season. In a recent 102-88 blowout victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Barrett contributed a game-high 24 points to go with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. In the team’s most recent victory, a 107-103 win against the Chicago Bulls, he added 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

“I think he’s playing with a lot of poise,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Barrett, who was drafted third overall by the Knicks in the 2019 NBA Draft. “I think from the beginning of the season, the rebounding, the playmaking has been there. He’s getting to his spots, he's making the right reads, whether he should shoot or pass. He scores so many different ways… I really like the way he’s playing. He’s playing really well off people, he’s playing really unselfishly and he’s playing both sides of the ball.”

Thibodeau is in his first season as head coach of the Knicks. Though a new coach means an adjustment for the players with lots to learn on both ends of the floor, Barrett is enjoying playing under his new coach's system and has already grasped the most important part of playing for a Thibodeau-coached team. “Thibs is a great coach and we have a great system offensively and defensively,” Barrett said. “I’m just trying to go out there and play hard.”

Also of note

• Dillon Brooks erupted for a season-high 25 points for the Memphis Grizzlies in a hard-fought 134-116 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Grizzlies, spanning before and after a one-game postponement and then a four-game postponement due to health and safety protocols, and came as the Grizzlies played their third road game in four days. In addition to his 25 points, Brooks added three rebounds, an assist, a block and three steals while shooting 10-for-18 from the floor.
  

• Cory Joseph had a season-high 16 points in a 126-124 Sacramento Kings victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday. The win came on the road, as the Kings held off a 32-point effort from Raptors forward Pascal Siakam to hang on for the victory. The game snapped Sacramento’s seven-game losing streak to the Raptors, thanks in part to Joseph’s 16-point effort off the bench in 24 minutes. The 10th year veteran point guard shot 6-for-9 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc while adding a rebound, four assists and a steal.

• The Boston Celtics fell to Joseph and the Kings on Wednesday, but it wasn’t for lack of effort and contribution from Tristan Thompson. Brampton, Ont. native finished with a season-high 17-point, 10-rebound double-double in the loss while shooting 7-for-9 from the floor in 22 minutes of action. This is 10-year veteran Thompson’s first season with the Celtics after spending the previous nine years of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers who selected him fourth overall in the 2011 NBA draft.
  

• Though the Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Brooklyn Nets 147-125 on Sunday, Nets head coach Steve Nash had kind words for Canadian duo Lu Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “It must be in the water in Canada, if you ask me,” Nash said of the Thunder backcourt, via Logan Newman of the Thunder Wire. “Shai is turning into an All-Star guard in front of our eyes. He’s taken another step -- his scoring, his feel, his passing, pick-and-roll and isolation situations … he’s shooting better off the bounce than he has been historically. He just continues to grow and prove he’s a very clever player.” Nash was complimentary of defensive specialist Dort as well. “Dort’s a terrific defender and is shooting the ball very well this year from three,” he said. Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points, four rebounds and five assists against the Nets, while Dort added 10 points for the Thunder in the loss.

• The Orlando Magic dropped a 121-107 decision to the Sacramento Kings last Wednesday, but fourth-year veteran Khem Birch set a new career-high with 14 rebounds. Birch also contributed eight points, three assists and a blocked shot in the game as he surpassed his previous career-high of 12 boards. Birch is averaging 7.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game off the bench for the Magic.

Game of the Week

‍Toronto Raptors @ Memphis Grizzlies

Monday, February 8, 8 p.m. ET

There will be plenty of Canadian hoops action in Memphis on Monday as the Toronto Raptors take on the Grizzlies. With Toronto's Chris Boucher and Memphis' Brandon Clarke and Dillon Brooks on the court, along with Canadian Senior Men’s National Team head coach Nick Nurse manning the sidelines for the Raptors, Canada Basketball will be well represented. Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet set a new Raptors franchise scoring record on Tuesday with 54 points in a 123-108 win against the Orlando Magic, the most points ever scored by an undrafted player. Toronto is fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 9-12 record while Memphis is 9-7 on the season and first in the Southwest Division despite having six games on their schedule postponed due to health and safety protocols.