Knicks’ Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson stand out for wrong reasons

Following a flat-out embarrassing loss to the Heat in Game 3, the Knicks needed a bounce-back win to avoid going down 3-1 in the series. Instead, New York put up an absolutely pitiful display.

The Knicks had arguably their best offensive game of the series, however, their horrid defense and even worse rebounding cost them in the end.

There are no excuses for the way the Knicks played on Monday. It’s one thing to lose, as Jimmy Butler and the Heat are talented, but the lack of effort has been disgusting to watch. Maybe New York can pull off a miracle, but it won’t happen if this keeps up.

Knicks’ lack of defensive and rebounding effort costs them in Game 4

Two of the biggest players who are at fault for the lack of effort are Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson. From a scoring point of view, Randle was good, scoring 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. However, in terms of literally anything else, Randle was atrocious.

Not only was his defensive effort porous, but his six turnovers were responsible for half of New York’s total as a team.

Randle has never been an elite defender by any means, but his complete lack of effort is inexcusable. The Knicks need him to be at his best in the playoffs as a whole, not just this series, but he has been playing rather poorly.

Alongside this horrific defensive effort from not just Randle, but the entire team, the Knicks’ rebounding down the stretch is what ended up costing them the game. There were several moments in the fourth quarter in which New York gave up multiple offensive rebounds at a time.

For the rebounding talent the Knicks have in Randle, Robinson, and RJ Barrett, there are no excuses for things like this to happen. Robinson was borderline useless on both sides of the ball in Game 4 and has struggled mightily this series in general.

The Heat have repeatedly attacked Robinson in pick-and-roll actions and it works nearly every time. Not only has his defense been off, but his ability to read and make decisions in those sets is simply not at an NBA level.

A loss in this manner is inexcusable and the Knicks need to lock in if they wish to make a miracle happen in Game 5. If not, they will lose in embarrassing fashion once again to get bounced out of the playoffs.

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