Grading RJ Barrett, Knicks' Top Stars to Open 2022-23 NBA Season

The start of the 2022-23 NBA season has been rather uneventful for the New York Knicks.

Whether that's a positive or negative depends on your perspective and expectations of this team, but it's had moments that make you want to believe and others that have you questioning where exactly this group is going.

While there are talking points up and down this roster, this is a star-driven league, so let's focus on the 'Bockers best and rank their big three so far.

The wait for RJ Barrett's leap into stardom continues.

Separate him from the expectations attached to being a No. 3 pick—in the Big Apple, no less—and there are more things to spotlight than second-guess in his skill set. He can be relentless off the bounce, he rebounds well for his position, he works as a secondary playmaker, and he usually holds his own defensively.

If goodness was the goal, he's there already and knocking on the door of very-goodness.

If greatness is the aim, though, the 22-year-old still has several boxes to check.

His three-point shot keeps trending down (career-worst 29.3 percent entering Wednesday). He won't be a focal point without increasing his assists (2.9) or free-throw attempts (4.3). He also needs to meet a standard of shooting efficiency he has yet to reach (43.1 percent).

Grade: B-

The Knicks spent a fortune ($104 million to be exact) for Jalen Brunson to solve their longstanding issues at point guard.

So far, they should be pleased with the return on their investment.

Save for three-point shooting, the 26-year-old is checking every statistical box the Knicks needed.

Pumping in a personal-best 19.7 points per game is impressive on its own, but doing that on 50.7 percent shooting is wholly encouraging. Just like tossing out a career-high 7.3 assists while coughing up just 1.7 turnovers in 33.8 minutes per game.

Brunson is carving his lane within the Knicks' big three without stepping on anyone else's toes. As soon as his three-ball bounces back—the career 37 percent shooter is hitting just 30.8 percent from range—he'll be doing exactly what New York wanted and more.

Grade: A-

Posting numbers is rarely a problem for Julius Randle.

Since the 2018-19 season, he's always averaged at least 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. The only players with similar streaks are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić and Karl-Anthony Towns, per Stathead Basketball.

The challenge for Randle, though, has been producing efficiently and translating his production into team success. That's unfortunately where he's still falling short.

The 27-year-old is still not even an average shooter from distance (33.3 percent), and he's dangerously close to matching his assists (3.3) with turnovers (3.1). His 16.9 player efficiency rating puts him a hair above the league-average mark of 15, per Basketball-Reference.

Most metrics paint him better than last season, so if that's where expectations were set, he's a half-tick above them. However, if folks were hoping for a return to his All-NBA second-team form from 2020-21, he's nowhere near that level.

Grade: B-