Back in Hell

Julius Randle seems intent on partying like it's '21-22

Last night, the Knicks played a hell of a game against the Milwaukee Bucks, nearly beating them on their home floor with RJ Barrett once again sidelined. Jalen Brunson was heroic, nearly carrying New York to victory by himself with 45 points, only to fall short in the closing moments as Damian Lillard hit a back-breaking three to regain a lead the Knicks were never able to get back.

I’ll have a full writeup on this game coming Monday, to the extent we can focus on anything other than the subject of today’s newsletter.

(We can, even though it feels like there’s only one relevant topic at the moment.)

But I had to put out my second KFS weekend edition of the young season because I have a mea culpa to fess to.

Last night on the live stream, I said that for stretches of this game, I actually didn’t hate Julius Randle’s process. Even as he was missing anything and everything, culminating in a final line of 5-for-20 that including one make in nine tries from deep, I had convinced myself that I had seen signs of progress.

But going back and rewatching all of his shots, I realized it was all in my head.

Me.

So, because I’m a glutton for punishment, today I’m going to go through all 20 of Julius Randle’s shots from last night, including clips and screenshots where appropriate. And if that’s not depressing enough, I’m going to continue with some brief analysis, including why this is a problem the Knicks had better figure out, because a workable Randle trade ain’t walking through that doorway.

Without further ado…