The New York Knicks had a very strong season, qualifying for the NBA Playoffs once again as the fifth seed and making it to the second round. At the start of the season, very few people would’ve expected the Knicks to make it that far.
The Knicks were summarily eliminated by the eighth-seeded Heat in the second round, with Julius Randle struggling. He was criticized publicly by Kenyon Martin for embracing his wife before his teammates when New York lost, a comment that Martin apologized to Randle and his wife about.
“His wife had a problem with what I had to say. I apologized to his wife if she took it that way; no shots at her. It had everything to do with sport. I saw something that bothered me as a competitor. We’ve been there and know what that is, to be with your guys, win, lose, or draw. We in there with them.”
Randle had an underwhelming series against the Heat, averaging 18.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on 41.1% from the floor and 28.1% from three. Fans lashed out against Randle after the elimination, tearing his poster in Madison Square Garden down and stomping on it.
A Bright Season With A Bitter End
The Knicks had an extremely solid season, with Jalen Brunson emerging as the true No. 1 option of the team. After joining in the summer, Brunson averaged 24.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in the regular season and 27.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in the playoffs to show that New York has their point guard of the present and the future. Randle and RJ Barrett, as the previous stars, could’ve had a bigger impact, especially in the playoffs.
The modern-day Knicks have been surprisingly patient with their team building and haven’t made any rushed mistakes in the last few seasons. They are not going to panic and move off an All-Star like Randle on a good contract, but his playoff drop for yet another season has to be concerning.
The team in place right now has the makings of consistent playoff contenders, but there still doesn’t seem to be a rush to add a superstar to take this group over the top for postseason success.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
