Julius Randle had a terrible game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday, scoring only 4 points against a struggling team at Madison Square Garden. Randle wasn’t his old self, and it showed, with the Knicks getting a terrible 102-91 loss at the hands of the young team.
It wasn’t their night, but Randle received the biggest criticism since he’s expected to be the leader of the team. At some point, he was very frustrated with the officials and the team’s display, throwing a tantrum after not getting the calls, starring in a questionable moment with his own teammates.
After not getting the foul, Randle was visibly mad. When Evan Fournier tried to cheer him up, the former Los Angeles Lakers didn’t appreciate that, separating himself from the French player. It was a terrible look for Randle since Fournier only wanted to help him.
This man went from likable to unlikeable so fast with all due respect pic.twitter.com/b8Ok8XY6xk
— Mark Jackson’s Burner (@casualtakeking) January 21, 2022
NBA fans didn’t like what they saw and called out Fournier, criticizing his attitude, while taking a shot at his poor performances this season.
https://twitter.com/thewiserwon/status/1484528836784140292
fournier was just tryna be a supportive teammate smh
— ً (@cooperkupps) January 22, 2022
Except Kobe was very very good at basketball
— Kelvin Johnston (@KevlinJohnston) January 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/LeJason23/status/1484601020001001477
lmao no way y’all thought he was good
— Moresauce22 (@moresauce22) January 21, 2022
Who's we?
— El Jefe 🧙🏾♂️ (@JeffreyA1110) January 22, 2022
You don’t see him spazzing out on his own teammate? That’s unnecessary
— Mask Up 😷 (@EvolvingCause) January 21, 2022
He doesn't seem like himself, almost like something going on "outside of basketball" personal life etc.. he's definitely not himself….
— Tyga.T 🎖️🎗 (@cmbteng) January 21, 2022
Facts. Straight up disrespectful to act that way around his own teammates. Uncalled for behavior
— Mask Up 😷 (@EvolvingCause) January 21, 2022
Fr, he doesn’t even play as hard as he did last season, he got the big contract and dipped
— L 🫥 🔮 (@BarrettsGoat) January 21, 2022
I mean he's clearly frustrated with his play and the how the tram doing obviously he's gonna be pissed
— SirEighty (@80CentSwag) January 21, 2022
bro thinks he’s still nice
— َ (@haxzy1k) January 21, 2022
Overrated af
— JaG🇺🇸 (@rightjabslick) January 21, 2022
Laker fans definitely saw this side of him early on. He definitely showed bad language and immaturity early in his career. He's gotta be better than this.
— black (@beephin_) January 21, 2022
Bad sportsmanship. He had a fraud season. https://t.co/Dx0CnFtH7H
— Brian (@brianhandall) January 22, 2022
He was likable ? https://t.co/40TVQkLaKv
— Too Much Sauce (@YeezyWept) January 22, 2022
been saying he don’t have the mentality of a superstar 🤦🏻♂️ baby ass https://t.co/BzB6NVkINK
— Big Don (@Dhantae) January 22, 2022
holy fuck get rid of randle lmao knicks fanbase gonna drive him to insanity https://t.co/u9OpdLpGw1
— Luke Bovius (@exile35k_chi) January 22, 2022
He knows that trade comin https://t.co/A7OjKKbIEl pic.twitter.com/4TQLEj0fr9
— 🅉🄸🄾🄽🅃🄾🅆🄽 (@BronZionx) January 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/Bronny6K/status/1484721626826829832https://twitter.com/BankrollBwoy/status/1484720169553469442
The night was horrible for him, which prompted the Knicks to not make Randle available in the post-game interview. The league fined the franchise for that, making sure they won’t do it again.
Randle played great basketball last season, surprising everybody with the Knicks that made it to the playoffs as the 4th seed in the East. This season, the situation is incredibly different. They are struggling to get things going, especially Julius.
His last seven games have been horrendous, like the entire season, but now the situation looks worse than ever. Something must change for the Knicks if they want to emulate and improve what they did last season. Randle’s level and attitude won’t help anybody, so Tom Thibodeau will have to make some changes before it’s too late.
