New York Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau Defends Julius Randle's Postseason Play
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The New York Knicks made the playoffs this past season as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and made it past the first round for the first time since 2013. They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in a five-game opener before falling in the conference semifinal to the Miami Heat, the eventual NBA Finalists, in six.
Julius Randle had a number of big games in the playoffs that led to wins, but he also had quite a few games that were disappointing and required other players to pick up the slack. For instance, in Game 4 against the Cavaliers, Randle only scored seven points, but the Knicks were still able to pull out the win as a result of Jalen Brunson's 29 points. In the Knicks' final stand against Miami, Randle shot 3-of-14 from the field, including 1-of-7 from three-point range, in a 96-92 defeat that ended in the season.
Randle was working the aftershocks of a late ankle injury sustained in the final stages of the regular season and averaged 16.6 points and 8.3 rebounds during the 11-game playoff trek, down from 25.1 and 10 respectively in the regular season. Previously, Randle shot a brutal 29 percent from the floor in the Knicks' prior playoff trip, a five-game first-round defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks in 2021.
As a result of his lackluster playoff performances, Randle has received his fair share of criticism from Knicks fans. Thibodeau, however, was quick to defend his two-time All-Star in his first public comments of the 2023-24 season.
New York Knicks forward Julius Randle backs down Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo
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"In the Miami series, he had some really good games, and he was doing it on a sore ankle," Thibodeau said, per Russell Richardson of Posting and Toasting. "Every year, you’re going to learn different things. You don’t get there all at once. When you look at his career, one of the things I really respect, he’s gotten better every year. "He continues to get better. And so, now, we gotta do this together. So he, Jalen, RJ, they’ve got to make sacrifices, too. And they’ve done that. Our whole group has to do that. How can we bring the best out of each other, that’s the challenge we face.
Despite his inconsistent play in the playoffs, Thibodeau appears to think that Randle is still able to bring out the best in his teammates, even if he is not performing his best at the same time.
