EMPTY FEELING AGAIN
Without Randle, Knicks no match for Raptors in vacant Toronto arena
Tom Thibodeau has a diagnosis for the Julius Randle critics: backup quarterback syndrome.
Randle has endured his share of denigrations this season for his erratic play, most vociferously from Knicks fans on social media, with separate pleas in the mainstream media for Thibodeau to give more playing time to backup Obi Toppin.
But after the Knicks were getting pummeled for a second straight game without Randle – a 120-105 defeat Sunday to the Raptors – it became an instance of the youngsters, including Toppin, looking overwhelmed by the heavier burden.
“It’s the day and age of social media, and that’s what social media is. You try not to pay attention to it, because it’s really meaningless, whether it’s praise or criticism,” Thibodeau said. “It doesn’t really matter. Really, what matters is what we think. And so, we know how important it is.
“But it’s like the backup quarterback. Everyone thinks the backup should start until he has to start. And so, Julius is a terrific player.”
Thibodeau likely wasn’t calling out any of his players with the backup quarterback remark— that’s not his style. But the question was specifically about Julius Randle, and it’s hard not to connect the coach’s answer to Toppin.
With Randle and the team’s top two centers (Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel) in COVID-19 protocols, Toppin logged a career-high 45 minutes and put up a respectable 19 points. But the Knicks were killed on rebounds, 43-30, and outscored in the paint, 52-36, with Toppin playing almost the entire game in the frontcourt.
Toppin’s offense couldn’t make up for his defense, and the Knicks lost by 15 points for the second game in a row.
“Obviously we got crushed on the rebounds,” said guard Evan Fournier, who scored 20 points in 26 minutes. “Because they played really big, and we were really small. So I think that was a key to the game. Just having one true center with Taj (Gibson), it puts you in a tough spot, obviously. Obi played center, but I don’t know how comfortable he is playing that position.”
The game at the Scotiabank Arena was played without fans, given the rise in COVID-19 cases and a restriction from the Canadian government to cap capacity at 1,000 fans. No tickets were sold, and only friends and family were allowed entry. That environment served the Knicks well last season, when they shocked the NBA to climb to the fourth seed (before fans were invited back for the playoffs and the Knicks bombed in first round).
It didn’t help them Sunday.
Fred VanVleet, a top free agent in 2020, scored an efficient 35 points in just 31 minutes as the Knicks backcourt, without Kemba Walker or Derrick Rose due to injuries, couldn’t keep pace.
Rookie Miles McBride started but was benched at the beginning of the second half and ceded much of his time to Immanuel Quickley, who produced just nine points in 28 minutes.
Thibodeau, who coached without his highest-paid assistants due to COVID-19 protocols (Johnnie Bryant and Kenny Payne), acknowledged he couldn’t find the right backcourt mix.
“We knew were going to have to mix and match,” Thibodeau said. “We were hoping to find some rhythm with one group. We never really got there.”
With four rotational players unavailable and headlined by Randle, the coach understood it’d be an uphill battle. And his young group never got very close to the top Sunday. The Knicks trailed by double-digits at the break and, after a 40-point third quarter by Toronto, they went into the fourth behind by 22.
“Overall I thought some guys stepped up and played good, but you’re shorthanded, the margin of error is small and we didn’t get it done.”