Getty Julius Randle of the New York Knicks dribbles against Jrue Holiday of the Milwaukee Bucks.
The New York Knicks saw their latest win streak end at four games after being bested by the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night by a final score of 111-107.
Though many factors led to the club’s ultimate demise, one of the most noteworthy seemed to be the poor shooting performance of their top option, Julius Randle.
While the big man did indeed finish the contest with the second-highest scoring output on the night with 25, he did so while shooting just 31% from the floor and an even more abysmal 8.3% from distance on a whopping 12 attempts.
Following the contest, his putrid shooting efficiency from the night was brought up by a reporter during a post-game media session, and, rather quickly, Randle wrote off the idea that his performance was anything more than just an off night.
“It’s a miss or make league, man. (They’re) the same shots I practice and put thousands and thousands of hours in, so I’m not really worried about it. They’ll go in next game,” Randle said.
Julius Randle on his rough shooting night vs. the Bucks:
“Miss or make league. The same shots in practice I put thousands and thousands of hours in. I’m not really worried about it. They’ll go in next game”
Despite his rough shooting night, since the start of December Randle has been an absolute gem for the Knicks, as he’s been posting stellar per-game averages of 28.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists on 45.1% shooting from the floor and 34.6% shooting from distance.
Throughout this span, he has thrust himself into the All-Star conversation for this season while New York has gone 12-7 (22-19 overall) and has seen two different winning streaks spanning four or more games.
Brunson Has Career Night With Knicks
Though Randle may have had himself an inefficient night, his fellow potential All-Star teammate Jalen Brunson went on to rack up a career performance against the Milwaukee Bucks.
A career night for Jalen Brunson:
44 PTS (career-high)
7 REB
4 AST
4 3PM
Right from the opening tip-off, the point guard was seemingly locked in, as he was directly responsible for 18 of the Knicks’ 22 first-quarter points whilst converting on five of his eight attempts from the field.
This level of efficiency and production lingered on throughout the entirety of the game and, by the time the final buzzer sounded, Brunson had managed to register a new career-high in points with 44 to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists whilst having shot 50% from the floor and 40% from distance.
Since signing his lucrative four-year, $104 million deal with the Knicks during this past summer’s free agency period the 26-year-old has proven to be worth every penny spent by the franchise, as he is sporting impressive averages of 21.6 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.5 rebounds on 46.9% shooting from the floor and 38.1% shooting from deep.
Knicks Urged to Deal for Suns Forward
As we inch closer to the 2023 NBA trade deadline, the rumor mill has gradually begun to pick up its pace and, as is the case virtually every year, the Knicks have been found heavily mixed into its spin.
Dating back to the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes from this past offseason, it has been a well-established notion that Leon Rose and company are looking to bolster New York’s talent pool via trade and, at this point in the 2022-23 campaign, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report viewed Phoenix Suns veteran Jae Crowder as perhaps one of the more ideal targets they could look to acquire.
“With Cam Reddish out of the rotation, the Knicks have only Barrett and Quentin Grimes to throw at high-scoring wings. Crowder would give them another option—and, in certain lineups, team with Barrett and Grimes to give this group a small horde of athletic, interchangeable stoppers,” Buckley wrote.
“He may not have a standout skill, and it’s not like he’ll develop one with his 32nd birthday behind him, but he’s a willing defender with a capable jump shot. His toughness could also help this team develop an edge that will be needed for any gritty, grind-it-out postseason games.”
Jae Crowder and the Suns have agreed to seek a trade for him out of Phoenix, per @ShamsCharania
Throughout his 11-year career, Crowder finds himself boasting averages of 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and a steal whilst owning an impressive defensive rating of 107.