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The New York Knicks’ playoff run has come to an end after five games and now they face a very important offseason.
For the most part, the team greatly exceeded the expectations set for them and they will look to go from there. Some members of the team have already made bold claims about what fans can expect, but that is certainly easier said than done.
One thing that was made abundantly clear this postseason is Julius Randle will need some additional hump if the team wants to get over the hump. Randle had a very strong regular season and was named Most Improved Player as a result of it, but he struggled mightily in the playoffs.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith says if we learned any lessons from these five games, it’s that Julius Randle isn’t a viable number one option.
Strong Words For the Knicks Forward
“Julius Randle is not a No. 1 option. … Julius Randle is an elite No. 3 option, a quality No. 2 option, but damn sure ain’t a No. 1 option.”
Knicks fans know firsthand how much Randle struggled against the Hawks through the series as it appeared in never quite discovered his shooting stroke.
A big reason for this is because the Hawks were able to defend him much better in the postseason than they were in the regular season when he lit them up. Stephen A believes he’s seen enough from this showing to make a decision.
“What you learned is Julius Randle is not a number one option,” he said on First Take. “And I’m not going to crucify him on this particular day because he did have a good season.”
He notes Randle averaged 37 points-per-game against the Hawks in the regular season shooting 58 percent from the floor, but those numbers dropped to 18 PPG and 30 percent from the field in the playoffs.
“The bottom line is what you learned is his limitations,” Smith continued. “Julius Randle is an elite number three option, a quality number two option, but damn sure ain’t a number one option.”
Stephen A Calls Out RJ Barrett Too
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Randle has been in the league for a much longer time than RJ Barrett has, so it makes sense for the criticisms of him to be a bit harsher, but Stephen A had some for Barrett too.
He notes that both Barrett and Randle drove to the left on pretty much every occasion in the playoffs, and that will have to change if the Knicks want to stay successful.
“Zion is on a level,” he says. “Ja is on a level. Number one and number two picks a couple years ago and then there is RJ Barrett who is a precipitous falloff from those two that I have mentioned.”
He says the Knicks might have to tie up Barrett’s left hand, along with Randle’s, to make them learn to become better with their right.
“If I’m the New York Knicks, I kidnap RJ Barrett and Julius Randle for the entire offseason,” he continued. “I tie up their left hand, I handcuff them to a bar or something and I make sure that they are not allowed to use their left hands. They are only allowed to use their right hand for the entire offseason.”
At the end of the day, he does note the season was a success because the New York Knicks are relevant again.
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NBA Analyst: Knicks’ Julius Randle ‘Damn Sure’ Isn’t Number 1 Option