Knicks: 3 reasons to believe in New York’s promising start
1) Reasons to believe in Knicks’ start: Julius Randle
To say Julius Randle has been playing out of his mind would be a massive understatement. I refuse to believe the man wearing number 30 this season is the same man wearing number 30 from last year.
As we all know, I have tried hypothetically trading Julius Randle to the highest bidder more times than I can count. At some points, I’ve been willing to accept an overpriced hot dog and a bag of peanuts from a Madison Square Garden concession stand in exchange for a one-way ticket sending Julius out of town — the amount of egg on my face could feed a small village.
Through 4 games, he’s been leading the offensive charge to the tune of 23.7 points, 10 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while averaging nearly 36 minutes per night. What has surprised me the most has been his consistency hitting the 3-ball, shooting a staggering 69% on the year, making 9 of his 13 attempts. His plus-minus for the Cavs game was only +4, but that’s because he played an ungodly 44 minutes.
🎥 KNICKS FILM SCHOOL
— JB (@JeffreyBellone) December 30, 2020
Julius Randle is off to an unbelievable start on the stat sheet, but it’s the way he’s doing it that has fans excited pic.twitter.com/xJOCatsYFA
This level of play will not only earn Randle a handsome new contract but also have him in considerations for his first All-Star appearance, which would gain him a well-deserved $900,000 bonus off of his current deal. The $19.8 million he’s set to earn next year is starting to look like a bit of a steal, and while the Knicks might still look to move him before the trade deadline, keeping him in NYC looks like it might be the better option as of now.
As a personal apology from the fanbase and myself to Mr. Randle, we are sorry for the slander. As long as this Julius keeps doing what he’s doing, I’ll be campaigning for a statue of him to be built on 8th avenue in front of The Garden.