Getty Mitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks celebrates his dunk in the first half against the Brooklyn Nets.
The New York Knicks are heading into the 2022-23 campaign with a considerable amount of hope after an offseason filled with copious amounts of roster shakeups.
From their salary-cap clearing trades that were executed to the bevy of free-agency signings made, Leon Rose and company were able to bolster Tom Thibodeau’s talent pool quite considerably during this past summer, and the addition of Jalen Brunson easily has the potential to be their biggest move of them all.
Reaching an agreement on a four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks on the first official day of free agency, New York netted arguably the most coveted available player at his respective position to serve as the long-awaited answer to their point guard woes.
For the better part of the past two decades, the Knicks have been found rolling out lineups with rather underwhelming talents at the game’s most important position. Just last season, in fact, fans of the ball club often witnessed Thibodeau slotting Alec Burks, a natural wing, in at the point guard spot, largely out of necessity and due to a lack of other options.
Now with Brunson in tow, the hope is that the team can finally find stability at the one. However, if you ask some members of the team, New York’s experimentation wasn’t considered to be a flaw like how fans and media pundits perceived it as being.
Robinson Sounds Off on Reporter
During the Knicks’ post-game presser on October 14, starting center Mitchell Robinson was asked by a reporter how it felt having a “true point guard” within their lineup, specifically noting that this means no longer having to see Alec Burks taking on the role like he did last season.
In response, the big man called out the reporter by playfully suggesting that the question he asked was ill-mannered.
“That’s rude,” Robinson said to the reporter. “I think he was [a point guard]. I mean, you didn’t see him with us? He got everybody involved and I feel like he was a true point guard if you ask me.”
After the press conference, Robinson doubled down on his stance that the question had an insolent tone attached to it, as he quote-tweeted SNY’s original clip of his presser and went on to show even more love for his former teammate.
Despite Robinson’s comments and feeling that Burks was a solid option at point guard during his time with the Knicks, through four preseason contests it seems to be rather apparent that, with Brunson now running the show at the position, this team is producing much more effectively.
During this stretch, New York has averaged 25.3 assists per contest, ranking them within the top 12 in this particular category, which, considering they finished dead-last in this area last season, is certainly a sign that this offense with a natural one-guard like Brunson is far more efficient and fluid.
Randle Has Faith in Knicks’ Coach
Despite last season’s lackluster finish, where the New York Knicks finished with their 17th losing season since the start of the century, it seems that big man Julius Randle still has plenty of trust in this team and, specifically, his coach.
During their post-game media session on October 13, the former All-Star discussed his feelings about Tom Thibodeau and his system, stating that he still has complete faith in his head coach.
“I’ve just bought into what coach is doing, how he’s trying to play,” Randle said during New York’s post-game presser via the New York Post.
“I’m just trying to be a leader and establish pace of play, unselfishness for our team, because I feel like we’re at our best when we play like that. … It kind of happens naturally. If the shot is there, take it. [If not], drive the ball, try to get to the rim. If it’s not there, we got shooters everywhere.”
This preseason, the Knicks have lost just once in their four total outings while Randle has been playing effectively in Thibodeau’s system, boasting solid per-game averages of 13.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and just shy of a steal.