On the eve of the Knicks home debut in December, swingman RJ Barrett gave a positive touch to playing in a garden without fans.
Choice # 3 in the 2019 draft showed that sometimes Knicks opponents would get up to play in front of a Garden crowd and this had an adverse effect.
“In fact, not having fans can be an advantage,” said Barrett on December 26. “I know that if I were a competitor, coming to Garden, with all those fans, I would like to have a great game. So getting in there without fans, in fact, probably gives us an advantage that way too. “
That’s how it happened. The Knicks are 8-6 in their 14 Garden games without a crowd. Tuesday’s tilt against Golden State kicks off a new version of its home schedule, with 2,000 fans allowed to enter. And some of them could cheer and pass out by arguably the most popular player in the game, Stephen Curry.
However, Barrett changed his tone. He didn’t like the void, despite the Knicks’ record win at the Garden, highlighting a season that was much better than expected. The Knicks are 15-16 and are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Barrett even alluded to the lack of Garden’s old mockery.
“I’m very happy to have the fans back, honestly,” said Barrett when he remembered his December comments. “I missed them. It’s been great playing at home, but nothing compares to when you have fans there at the Garden, so I’m really excited for that. “
“I think it’s a little bit different in terms of the advantage on the court,” added Barrett. “There are no fans. You are really just playing basketball. I kind of got used to it, but at the end of the day, playing basketball, you want fans. You want to hear applause, you want to hear boos. All of it. “
The Garden will only be 10 percent full on Tuesday, so it is unclear how much noise they can make in an arena with a capacity of 19,040. Imagine that the false applause that was pumped during the 14 Garden games may be secretly helping the small crowd.
“I think that means a lot to New York,” said Barrett. “It means a lot to us, giving us that extra boost. I miss the joy and happiness of just having the fans there cheering. “
Barrett led the NBA in minutes in January, but Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau cut him down, especially after Derrick Rose switched. In the last seven games, he has averaged 26.7 minutes. The Knicks are 4-3 in that period.
In the first 24 games, Barrett averaged 35.1 minutes.
“It’s been great,” said Barrett. “Whatever the team needs. Whatever the team needs, everything is fine. It’s been working for us lately, so I’m really happy. “
Julius Randle, on time to potentially be nominated as an All-Star by the coach’s vote for reservations, gave assistant coach Kenny Payne some credit for his career year. They were in Kentucky together and Randle said she tried to convince him to come. The Post reported that Payne initially refused the Knicks’ openings.
“Yes, I definitely tried to convince him,” said Randle. “I was certainly excited when I heard it was a possibility. That’s my guy – no one better to be on your side than he is. It has definitely been a great thing for me to come here. The relationship I have with him is incredible. It’s been good. “