Why the Knicks giving Julius Randle a max contract is a mistake

New York Knicks: The impact of the ‘no-defense’ 2020-2021 season

It was blatantly obvious that this season, hardly anyone played defense in the NBA. This was a result of many factors, chief among them: players were not in all in shape; there was less practice time to allow coaches to install and tailor defenses; the frequency of games and short breaks rendered the players fatigued; and the absence of fans in the building decreased the energy on the floor.

Consider the last one and think, do those “DEFENSE, DEFENSE” chats from 17,000+ fans have any impact? Ask the player who is trying to dig down deep and muster any semblance of energy in the 4th quarter of a the 2nd night of a back-to-back. On the road. While playing 40 mins for the second consecutive night.

Randle’s shooting numbers were off the charts this season. In the 7 seasons he has played in the league, Randle has hovered in the 20% range on 3-pointers, with the exception of his lone season in New Orleans in 2018-2019, when he shot 34% on less than one made 3P a game. Last season, his 1st in NY, he shot 27.7% from deep on one made 3P a game.

This season, he scorched the nets from deep, posting a 41.1% clip on 2.3 3P makes a game. But the number fell to 33% in the playoffs, possibly a regression to the mean. And the playoffs coincided with the return of near-capacity crowds at arenas.

NBA Players are encouraged to rest on offense and give it all on defense, but this was not the case this season. Just look at the selections for this season’s All-Defense Teams. Matisse Thybulle of the Philadelphia 76ers, a 2nd team selection, was billed as a defensive stalwart since his days at the University of Washington.

Sure, the 6-foot-5 Thybulle boasts an impressive 6-foot-11 wingspan and has a high motor, but it was likely slim pickings for voters if they were relegated to selecting a player who only started 8 games this season and averaged 20 minutes per contest. Thybulle averaged 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per contest, but the 4-year college player and top-20 pick in the 2019 was a curious pick for the team. Simply put, he just didn’t play enough to truly warrant an All-Defensive Team nod.

Additionally, this season saw only four players average at least two blocks per game; in 2020 there were eight and in 2019 we saw six.

Can Randle sustain his incredible shooting during a normal season, when teams have more rest, coaches have more time to scheme against his playing tendencies, and crowds can not only get in his head, but also give his opponent a boost on the defensive end? Shouldn’t the Knicks try to find out before paying Randle?