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NY Knicks: 3 negative takeaways from the 2021-22 season

By James Ryder

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 18: Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks looks on during a break in the action during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on March 18, 2022 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 18: Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks looks on during a break in the action during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on March 18, 2022 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) /
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New York Knicks, Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant, New York Knicks. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

Julius Randle’s regression and antics in 2021-22

During several games to end the 2020-21 season in which fans were back in the stands, Randle continued to have the best year of his career. For that reason, I didn’t buy into the idea that he and other players who excelled only did so because of the “empty gym atmosphere” NBA games had.

The presence of fans definitely matters and adds pressure, but to me, that wasn’t a factor in what made Randle ball out.

One fan or 100,000 fans, Randle was drilling fadeaway and pull-up jumpers from mid-range and from three in the teeth of defenses and making the perfect reads with the ball in his hands. He’s a professional and a very talented one at that. He had a scorching hot season.

But now that I have seen how 2021-22 went, I am questioning nearly everything I thought I knew about that All-NBA season. When it comes to Randle, the physical isn’t his issue. The biggest determining factor in his game is, undebatably, the mental.

Randle seemingly melted down in the opening round of the 2021 playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks. To their credit, the Hawks did a good job of defending Randle and pressuring him with double teams. But that was nothing Randle couldn’t handle throughout the year. So what changed?

Perhaps Randle was taxed from a long season in which he played 71 games, where he was fragmented into sand from playing 37.6 minutes per contest, along with having to dominate on a nightly basis to win.

Perhaps that’s the main cause for his lack of success this year – exhaustion. Both from the mileage put on his body last season along with him and his wife having their second child early in the 2021-22 campaign.

Or, was the pressure to keep it going in his playoff debut too much? Did his failure to help his team win in the postseason carryover and weigh heavily on him throughout 2021-22?

I truly think it is some mixture of both, but I’d say the evidence suggests about a 70/30 split leaning more towards the mental being what has caused Randle’s regression.

If he plays in Dallas, on the West Coast, or against Domantas Sabonis, then we get All-NBA Randle. If the scenario doesn’t involve that criteria, then Randle may not even score in double figures.

Fans berated “Bey Blade” relentlessly, leading to him responding with his career year. But this season, all fans got from criticizing Randle was angry Kendra tweets, a thumbs down, and a “shut the f- up.”

But what caused Randle’s best stretch of the season? It took Marc Berman being bad at his job.

And there are of course the endless in-game antics and tantrums he pulled while often showing little if any hustle or focus on both sides of the ball.

For all intents and purposes, this was a nightmare for Randle, and consequently, for the Knicks and their fans. It is arguably the most negative thing to have occurred to the team.

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