Hard to know if it's the chicken or the egg with Randle clogging and RJ/EF clanking... I really think we miss Bullock's style/fit as he camped at the 3pt line on offense which gave Randle and RJ more space to operate. Fournier dribble driving, Kemba dribble driving, etc... it takes up RJ's opportunities and probably is too much when Randle is the focal point. I think swapping Burks for Fournier helps but he is also best as a shot creator. Burks does seem to know when to spot up and when to bail us out with his shot creation better than Fournier though. Same with IQ - he seems to know how to do both pretty well. I have no problem moving RJ to 2nd unit but at some point when are we going to admit that playing a slow paced game centered around Randle is nowhere near as effective as when we play faster? I get that there are times you need an ISO/Randle type of player to bail you out when the game gets tight - but lately we don't even get to that point in the game because we play like an over 40 league at the YMCA. We walk the ball up, hope Randle beats his man or is shooting well, and then take turns going 1 on 1 between RJ, Kemba and Fournier. Mitch runs around and grabs some rebounds when he isn't falling down.
Compare that to the 2nd unit w/IQ, DRose, Burks, Obi and Taj/Noel - we run, move the ball faster and while mistakes are made - we are harder to guard simply because of this style. I've been saying that Toppin needs more minutes and can also clearly say Randle is still a much talented player. But in the end it's what the scoreboard says - so if Toppin scores 12 and IQ and RJ play better - than it doesn't really matter if Randle goes for 29 if we win. Look at the +/-, do the eye test, rewatch the Hawks games. Since Lin we haven't really played uptempo effectively and now we see the youngsters doing pretty well.
I think one part is maybe balancing out the fist team and second team defensively and energy-wise. But if we were willing to take our lumps/growing pains and shift to more IQ, Toppin and less EF, Kemba and at times Randle and RJ - we might reach and maximize whatever this roster's potential actually is faster. Yes we will probably take two steps back to eventually take a giant step forward. Or we wait until the slow moving train reaches the station and move on from Randle in a year when his value continues to lower. If RJ doesn't improve playing faster than I'd be open to moving on from him as well. I do think he will benefit from more spacing and a faster pace though.
When was the last time the Knicks energy made you feel confident we could beat a good team vs praying our main guy has it going that particular night?
11/27/2021 11:08 PM LAST EDITED: 11/27/2021 11:09 PM