
He's incredibly efficient on offense and a total terror on defense. Williamson has been better, and not just because of the highlight-reel plays. He's a big reason why Duke's defense has been so good. But he's not scaring people like Williamson.
RJ BARRETT STTS PLUS
He's intuitive, has good size and is a plus athlete. Some irony here: Barrett falls in the former category, which means he's a good defender. Williamson doesn't just hang with them he disrupts them. Some guys can hang with positions one through five. We talk a lot about multi-positional defenders. Williamson is an outstanding rim protector who's also more than capable of switching out onto ball-handlers. His feel is underrated, and we know all about the physical attributes. He can get a bit foul-happy, but Williamson is a stud in just about every facet of defense. He just wrecks people on the defensive end, as you'll see in this six-block performance against Army: The dunks are dazzling, but this is the part of Willliamson's game that doesn't get enough credit. Williamson has solid vision when attacking a closeout, but he's not really a point forward like Barrett. He falls into hero ball mode too often, as we saw against Syracuse and Gonzaga. That said, he should probably look to playmaker more than he currently does. It's in the assist totals, and Barrett is better as the ball-handler in pick-and-roll actions. But it's really, really close.Īs previously mentioned, Barrett has an advantage here. But Barrett's creativity also helps Williamson and the rest of his teammates Williamson can drive and kick a bit, too, but it's not really his game.īarrett gets a slight nod here because of his offensive versatility. As a Duke fan, you'd rather have a possession ending in a Williamson shot than a Barrett shot. MORE: Zion Williamson dunk tracker: Watch all his top dunks of the season He's an excellent offensive rebounder, which is another efficient source of offense. He's an impressive straight-line driver, with more wiggle than most anticipate.
RJ BARRETT STTS HOW TO
The only shot that's better than an open 3-pointer is a dunk, and Williamson certainly knows how to do that. Williamson hardly misses, and that's a testament to him. Besides that, Barrett has a ton going for him in this department, and he's been really good lately. It's the worst shot in basketball, and he takes a lot of them. Barrett's raw scoring average is better, but Williamson is far more efficient.īarrett needs to eliminate most of the pull-up, midrange jumpers from his arsenal. It's all about what metric you consider most important. Probably the toughest category to evaluate between these two. The gaps will narrow as the year goes on, but keep an eye on these splits. Jack White has been solid thus far, but it's a clear downgrade when he replaces Williamson. He's a defensive monster who also scares defenses. A possible explanation behind these numbers: Tre Jones is an awesome point guard who can run the team, while Cam Reddish is a similarly-sized wing to Barrett who can replicate a lot of his skills. With that said, the difference here is massive, and it has to be taken into account to some extent. Barrett helps Duke when he's playing, but the Blue Devils generally fare just fine without him.Ĭollege basketball rankings: Duke, Gonzaga take over top two spots in Andy Katz's newest Power 36Īn important disclaimer: it's important not to read too much into on/off-court splits. Duke struggles mightily on both sides of the floor when he's out of the game. The biggest point Williamson has going for him. Perhaps the most telling metric between these two: Here's how Duke has fared with these guys on and off the floor. Williamson has been better statistically so far there's no denying it. While efficiency is all the rage these days, it takes talented shot creators to help off-ball players achieve said efficiency.
RJ BARRETT STTS TV
North Carolina: Prediction, preview, TV channel Barrett, meanwhile, shoots a lot (probably the biggest knock on him so far) but also generates open looks for his teammates.ĭuke vs. He's a more impactful defensive player and rebounder. Williamson scores far more efficiently, but he's also not creating as much offense for himself or teammates. Williamson has the edge in most categories, and the vast differences help illustrate how different their skill sets are.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50042255/SBM-RJ_Barrett_1___Gallery.0.0.jpg)
Here's a side-by-side comparison of Barrett and Williamson's stats this season: Barrett vs.

* Editor's note: This story was originally published Nov. Let's break it down by examining several key categories. But let's try to answer a simple question that will lead us down more complicated paths: who's been more impactful? Barrett are teammates, they'll be compared to each other now until the NBA Draft. Despite the fact that Zion Williamson and R.J.
