After he recovered by the start of the 2022 portion of the season, though, Barrett went on a tear. He averaged 24 points, six rebounds and nearly four assists per game, he shot 35 percent from 3 on over six attempts per game, and he got to the line 7.5 times per game. It was the exact leap that was expected of him in the preseason. But because the Knicks were a disappointing 17-19 when the calendar turned over — and because there were other important developments such as Julius Randle’s regression — it went a bit more unnoticed than you’d think a clear breakout for a 21-year-old would.
Moreover, there were substantial stylistic changes from Barrett in the back half of last season. As The Athletic’s Fred Katz noted in a deep dive on Barrett in March, he made a mindset adjustment at that time. Long an aggressive driver toward the basket, we saw Barrett get even more assertive at attacking the rim. It was a lot of catch-and-shoot 3s, or it was an aggressive slash to the rim. From Jan. 1 onward, Barrett averaged 16.1 drives per game. He took 8.6 shots per game off those drives, the seventh-most in the NBA over that time.
