RJ Barrett may fill in at the four with Obi Toppin out

CHARLOTTE– There are times when a concern needs to be asked however the response currently is understood. So when RJ Barrett was asked this one Friday early morning, the job interviewer and the interviewee both understood the response currently.

With Obi Toppin sidelined for what figures to be a minimum of a month, could Barrett, who currently is playing more minutes than any gamer on the Knicks lineup, shoulder more of the load as Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau recommended?

“Keep in mind when I was playing 37 [minutes per game]?” Barrett addressed with a smile. “Yeah, so I’m great.”

Friday night versus the much more shorthanded Hornets– missing out on LaMelo Ball, Dennis Smith Jr. and Gordon Hayward– will be the very first test for how the Knicks will manage the lack of Toppin, who suffered a non-displaced fracture in his best fibula head Wednesday in the win over Atlanta.

With the rotation pared down to 9 gamers prior to the injury and the group actively going shopping a few of the gamers vacated the tactical plan– Webcam Reddish, Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose– the Knicks now require to discover a method to offset the 17 minutes per video game Toppin was playing.

Thibodeau’s very first choice after that video game was, “We’ll figure it out. I like the concept of RJ existing some. I believe he revealed us in 2015 how reliable he can be at the 4, so I believe that can be a possibility.”

Barrett is playing 33.5 minutes per video game this season and as he kept in mind, he was 2nd– just to colleague Julius Randle– in minutes played in the 2020-21 season. It was in fact 34.9 minutes per video game and he played every video game that season, however point made– he is a workhorse. However he is likewise 6-foot-6 and a wing who now will be asked to take on versus larger challengers and assist more on the boards than he has.

“I have actually done it previously,” Barrett stated. “A great deal of groups go little nowadays. I do not believe it’ll be anything too insane. It’ll be enjoyable. We’ll choose our areas and we’ll see how it goes.

“I do what I have actually got to do. Whatever it is it does not matter where coach puts me. I’ll do what I have actually got to do. … Today’s NBA is various. It’s having another wing out there. You see Julius– he’s a wing. He simply takes place to be a beast.”

“It simply makes our capability to rating most likely going to go a little simpler,” Immanuel Quickley stated. “Even if you have someone who can shoot it like RJ at the 4, can get downhill, can assault, can produce plays for others. Truly, simply need to understand the rebounding if he’s playing the 4. Everyone’s got to box out a bit more, attempt to assist on the boards.”

The simple option might be a couple of more minutes for Randle and a couple of more for Barrett. Thibodeau has actually held tight when he has actually eliminated gamers from the rotation, however Reddish definitely might aid with his size and protective capability. He would need to discover his escape of the dog house, which might be unsteady thinking about the group has actually currently been talking about trade possibilities.

It’s more than minutes though that the Knicks require to change with Toppin out. While his play has actually been spotty, he provides something that appears irreplaceable.

“Missing Out On Obi is a huge thing,” Barrett stated. “He’s such a ball of energy, guy, heading out there. When he’s out there we simply play much faster. We play a lot better. … That’s a man, his energy and spirit, you constantly understand he’s going to have a smile on his face. He’s going to bring favorable energy. So that’s going to be missed out on for sure.”

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has actually invested almost 3 years covering the Knicks and the NBA, in addition to almost every sports group in the New york city city.