Is Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau right to not place blame on Julius Randle for ejection?

Julius Randle continued his hot streak in the New York Knicks’ fourth straight win on Sunday. It started with him scoring 17 points in the first quarter but it ended with him getting ejected in the third quarter after picking up his second technical foul.

Randle felt as if he was fouled and after he picked up his first technical foul, he continued to go at the referees. It started when he went up with the ball while being guarded by Harrison Barnes and Domantas Sabonis, he missed the shot, and then went down. The Kings scored in transition and during that span, Randle remained on the opposite end of the court arguing.

Once he got his first technical, he walked away from the official that he had been going at before going up to another and yelling something, which is how he picked up his second technical. Randle continued to yell as he left the floor.

Tom Thibodeau doesn’t blame Julius Randle for getting ejected but instead faults Knicks team

Julius Randle wasn’t in the wrong to argue about the no-call, but he should’ve known to not cross the line. He was New York’s best player on the floor at the time and luckily, the team managed to close out the last quarter of the game without him.

After the game, Tom Thibodeau had an interesting response to Randle’s ejection.

"“When he got the first [technical foul], we have to do a better job of helping him walk away,” the Knicks’ coach said after his team’s 112-99 win over the Kings. “As a team, staff, all of us.”"

He followed that up with:

"“There are going to be some miss-calls. That’s part of it,” Thibodeau said. “Just keep competing. But when a guy gets frustrated, we got to make sure [to] help. … Just [have] an awareness. Go grab him. It’s a dead ball.”"

RJ Barrett echoed Thibodeau by saying:

"“Once someone gets one [technical], you’ve got to hold him back after that,” Barrett said."

What Thibodeau and Barrett said makes sense because when a player is normally arguing with an official, a teammate steps in to try to separate the two. After Randle walked away after receiving his first tech, one of his teammates should’ve stopped him before he proceeded to argue with a second official. Jalen Brunson tried, but it was too late.

However, that doesn’t mean that Randle should be without blame. He continued to jaw at officials and that took him out of the game entirely. It’s not as if Randle is a rookie. He’s one of the Knicks’ leaders and his actions didn’t reflect that. Like Mike Breen said, Randle’s frustration was understandable, but he can’t go as far as to get himself thrown out of the game.

The 28-year-old has been on a hot streak as of late that has propelled New York to jump above .500 with a 14-13 record. If Brunson has to miss a few games with his sprained ankle, the Knicks will have to rely on Randle more, so two techs that lead to an ejection within a matter of seconds can’t happen.

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