PHILADELPHIA — As the Knicks’ offense became increasingly reliant on one man, sometimes with success, sometimes with alarming scoring slumps, Josh Hart was Julius. -Randall didn’t forget why he was helpful.
“Where do I start? I mean, he’s an All-Star,” said Hart, who essentially replaced Randle in the starting lineup but not with any offensive production. “he [averaged] twenty four [points] and 9 [rebounds] and five [assists]so playmaking, shotmaking is what we’re missing.
“It’s funny, when people talk about us, they somehow forget the huge void that a 24-year-old and a 9-year-old are gone. It’s not like he’s with 70 to 80 percent of us. . He’s not there. I mean, it’s a big hole and we knew it was going to be hard to fill, but his playmaking, his shot-making, his energy is something we’ll definitely miss. be.”
After Randle dislocated his shoulder, Jalen Brunson developed into a one-man show, which expanded even more in the playoffs.
Brunson, who entered Thursday’s Game 6, accounted for one-third of the team’s total points and had a usage rate of 36.1 percent, well above the 28 percent he had when sharing the court with Randle until February.
If you were to rank players who can make their own shots in the half court for the Knicks-Sixers series, Philadelphia would have three of the top four players — Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, no doubt. After Brunson joins the list, and perhaps Tobias Harris will directly join the list.
Randle, despite his struggles in the playoffs, can definitely get buckets in isolation.
Heading into Game 6, no one on the Knicks other than Brunson was averaging more than 17 points, at least half of Brunson’s 34.4 points.
Theoretically, the ceiling for the Knicks’ championship hopes is set low, but that’s because every other team remaining in the playoff spot is far ahead of the Celtics (Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) and the Bucks (Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dame Lillard), the Pacers, etc., simply because they have a better second point. (Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam), Cavaliers (Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland), Magic (Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner), Clippers (Paul George and James Harden), Mavericks (Luca Doncic and Kyrie Irving), Timberwolves (Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns), Nuggets (Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray), Thunder (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Williams).
This is not to suggest that it is impossible for a ball-dominant player to carry his team without the threat of another shot creator.
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In 2001, Allen Iverson led the Sixers to the Finals with Aaron McKee as No. 2, and in 2011, Dirk Nowitzki won the championship with Jason Terry as Dallas’ second-leading scorers.
But in the Philadelphia series, it was clear that the Knicks missed out on someone who could help ease Brunson’s load.
It doesn’t help that the Knicks’ No. 2 scorer, Donte DiVincenzo, shot just 33 percent through the first five games of the series after Randle’s injury.
This situation was further exacerbated by the injury to Bojan Bogdanovic, who was the team’s best offensive threat off the bench. He suffered a fall on Nic Batum in Game 4 and underwent season-ending surgery on his ankle.
Randle, who will be eligible for a contract extension in the summer, also underwent surgery at the end of the season and will miss all playoff games.
The impact of his absence is more subtle than the 24 points and nine rebounds that Hart proposed (any shot without Randle would be taken by someone else), and the Knicks are better without the All-Star in some aspects of the game. Sometimes. (Hart is an excellent offensive rebounder and defender).
But when things get bogged down in the half-court offense, like in the fourth quarter of Game 5, when Brunson comes off the bench, gets trapped, or struggles, Randle could be used.
“Of course it would be better to have Julius, but the reality is he’s not here,” Brunson said. “We’re not going to replace him individually, but I think we’ve found a way to replace him as a team. And I think this is our team at this point getting through things and being ready for this opportunity.” I think we’ve worked hard to get into this position.”
