Things haven’t been the same since.įor starters, the expectations were too steep. He took a drastic step backward in the playoffs, and the Knicks lost to the lower-seeded Hawks in five first-round games. They were the fourth seed in the East last season and had the city on hype, and that’s when it all came apart for Randle and the Knicks. The Knicks are falling right along with him. Randle seems unable to fit the mold and definition of a superstar or endear himself to New Yorkers, whom he insulted last month with his now-infamous thumbs-down gesture toward the home crowd at Madison Square Garden. His vital numbers are all down from his breakout 2020-21 campaign, and he isn’t rescuing the Knicks in late-game moments with the same regularity (he’s 43rd in clutch scoring this season after finishing 12th last season). Randle is a gifted, 6-foot-9 forward and just 27, but he won’t be returning to the All-Star Game this season. The two were separated, and normally this would be minor heat-of-the-battle stuff, except it’s mushroomed by the problems with Randle and the overall flatlining of the Knicks, currently in 12th place in the East. Julius Randle in computer altercation with Knicks assistant /Ou4rDSeBB9 Randle brushed aside the computer and turned away, and when King had something else to say, Randle stepped to him. In the huddle, their video coordinator, Scott King, was trying to show a highlight - or maybe lowlight - to Randle, who wasn’t having any of it. In the second half of their recent 122-115 overtime road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers - when they were powerless to prevent the Lakers’ comeback - there was a telling moment during a timeout. And now, there’s a new addition to the list: Lashing out at laptops.
Late-game collapses, losing streaks, turnovers and missed shots have all become the norm this season, where the Knicks are 24-30. The same is true for Randle, their best player, who seems lost and bewildered. It all seems like a cruel and wicked tease in hindsight because the once-resurgent Knicks are once again struggling mightily. Well, strange but true: The citizens believed their beloved Knicks, based on last season’s small sample size of evidence, were now ready for prime-time - and that Julius Randle would lead them toward the top.Įssentially, millions fell hard for it, and what kind of sound is made on the pavement when that happens? Do you know how hard that is to pull off here?
In a city filled with the street-smart and the educated-smart - because you need to be one or the other to survive here - somehow clever New Yorkers were collectively conned by a small group of people. Julius Randle and the Knicks are both searching for the mojo that made 2020-21 so magical.
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