Getty Julius Randle of the New York Knicks shoots a jump shot while defended by Wendell Carter Jr. of the Orlando Magic.
So long as Tom Thibodeau is running the show as head coach, the New York Knicks will always be seen as a club with limited upside on offense.
However, through the early stages of the 2022-23 campaign, it appears as though things on the more glamorous side of the ball are arguably worse than some had originally anticipated.
In a November 3 article discussing one problem every NBA team “didn’t see coming”, Bleacher Report writer Zach Buckley described New York’s particular issue as being that their offense simply “can’t breathe.”
“New York’s starters have splashed just 36 threes in six games. For context, Stephen Curry has 38 triples on his own. Incredibly, though, the low volume isn’t the biggest worry here. The efficiency—or inefficiency, rather—is what’s really derailing this unit,” Buckley wrote.
“Evan Fournier, who has a team-high 15 threes, is the Knicks’ lone starter shooting better than 34 percent from deep. Jalen Brunson is at 33.3, while RJ Barrett and Julius Randle are both south of 25 percent.
“The Knicks already have a non-spacer in rim-running center Mitchell Robinson, so if they can’t get a couple of these shooters on track, this unit’s offense might be rendered nonfunctional.”
Through seven games played the New York Knicks find themselves slotted into the bottom half of nearly every important statistical category on offense including offensive rating (19th overall), field goal percentage (19th overall), and three-point field goal percentage (24th overall).
Fans Pointing at Randle for Knicks’ Struggles
Even though there are many inefficient offensive players on the New York Knicks this season, Julius Randle is the one who’s receiving most of the attention and, frankly, most of the blame from the fan base.
Through seven games played, the big man finds himself boasting averages of 17.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals which, on the surface, looks to be solid production.
However, he’s putting up these numbers whilst shooting 42.6% from the floor and 20.7% from deep and sporting a -1.5 offensive box plus-minus rating.
Since the start of the Knicks’ current three-game slide, Randle has seen his offensive production regress even further, posting 14.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists a game on a putrid 34.3% shooting from the floor overall (has missed all nine of his three-point attempts) whilst sporting a box plus-minus rating of -10.7.
Directly after the team’s most recent loss to the Atlanta Hawks on November 2, fans headed to social media to voice their frustrations over New York’s brutal efforts, and couldn’t help but blast Randle’s performance, with one fan going as far as to urge the team’s front office to trade the 27-year-old away for “literally anything.”
RJ Barrett and Julius Randle cannot exist on the same team together. We’ve known this for 3 years now. Please move Randle for literally anything.
Despite his struggles against the Hawks, Randle still went on to put up 12 shots from the floor and tied for second on the team with four three-point attempts, missing each one. On top of this, he finds himself averaging 14.4 shot attempts from the field and 4.1 attempts from distance.
Brunson Takes Blame
Though fans may be looking to point their fingers at Randle for the Knicks’ offensive struggles, newly tenured Jalen Brunson is going out of his way to shoulder the blame.
In a post-game media session on November 2, the point guard told reporters that he feels it’s his responsibility to keep the team in rhythm.
“We just came out a little lackadaisical,” Brunson told the reporter. “As a point guard, as a leader, I got to take credit for that. I mean, that’s just unacceptable on my part.”
Though the Knicks may be in a slump, Brunson has been a revelation for the ball club during his first year under contract, posting per-game averages of 18.4 points, 6.9 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.1 steals on 48.1% shooting from the floor.