Mike Riordan- along with Cazzie Russell and Dave Stallworth- were known as the Minute Men on the first championship team. Before that Riordan was 'Give One Mike '. In the 60s an intentional foul was 1 free throw so some teams would foul at the end of a quarter to try and score 2 against the 1 free throw. Red Holzman would sub Riordan in with the instructions to 'give one Mike ' rather than have a starter risk foul trouble. Riordan's exuberance in 'giving one' made him a crowd favorite.
Jun 19, 2023·edited Jun 19, 2023Liked by Jonathan Macri
I think this concern about how Randle specifically would fit as a 1st, 2nd and 3rd option is really overthinking things. Knicks had 3 guys last year with 20 PPG and that was with RJ being really inefficient. Now, if you are keeping all 3, there is an issue in finding shots. But, Randle's not the biggest problem there (a few good playoff games for RJ notwithstanding).
Randle's still going to get the majority of his shots in the first half/first quarter and probably be the No. 1 option there. Then, as defenses double him, shots will open up for Brunson and whoever the "Superstar" is.
As for the clutch time in the 4th quarter, Randle shouldn't be the focus. But that's more a comment on this position than Randle specifically. Compare Randle's TS% in the clutch this past season to other prominent PFs. Randle - 51.9% KAT. He's better than 50.9% Frank Wagner (who I really like) 50.3% Tatum - 49.4% Giannis- 48% Horford - 48% Mikal Bridges - 47.9% AD- 47.1% Siakam - 45.1%.
Put some better shooters around him and his numbers probably go up in efficiency. Add a creator/shooter/superstar around him and he becomes more of a threat.
In summary, this assumption that Randle has to take a step back, adjust to a new role, etc., is not necessarily true. If the FO keeps Randle, they will figure it out.
I think this is very well said and I think this is solid evidence. Like you, I'm not really worried about how it'll look / work on offense. Defensively is where I'd be a bit worried depending on who they acquired.
I agree but there I hade confidence in Thibs. In the Miami series, team has positive +/- with Randle on the gooor on one leg and held Miami’s offense well below their numbers against Milwaukee and Boston. Haven’t checked the finals but I suspect Miami’s offense was better there as well.
I think it was Ben Rithols (sp?) who talked about keeping my guy Randle moving/switching on D. I think that's probably for the best. On offense Randle has been every kind of big wing man over his career, I wouldn't be worried about his effectiveness there.
I agree. Seems every year, people speculate that Randle can’t be successful for one reason or another in some mythical future offense. Unless the Knicks can find similar talent, health and reliability elsewhere for the same numbers, or unless Randle is a direct part of a trade for the Superstar, let’s just let it play out.
Yup. The most direct and IMO most likely path towards ascension for these Knicks is RJ Barrett being the guy we saw in the playoffs or before Luka chopped off his hand in the regular season.
IF Leon Rose decides moving Randle is the best path forward, the question becomes: who’s the trade partner? Randle has been very productive, but his position / style of play does not fit every team. In a vacuum, not considering every detail of a potential trade, the teams/rosters that *could* make sense on paper (but are also problematic for various reasons) include:
- Boston in a Jaylen Brown deal (would BOS ever do this? Doubtful)
- Dallas (1. They hate us. 2. They have trash to trade.)
- Golden State in a Dray deal (bet both teams say no here)
- Houston (what value could they possibly send back?)
- Minnesota in a KAT deal (might make most theoretical sense, but...well, we all understand the KAT concerns)
- New Orleans (1. concerns re: Zion should be 10x more than any other potential trade target, and 2. would NO even do this?)
- Portland (only makes sense if Dame stays AND they could swing another deal to vault into pseudo-contention)
I don’t know. If these odds were on FanDuel, I’d bet a large sum Randle is back next year in the same 1st / 2nd option role. I don’t see them finding a sensible deal, and I don’t see them making an addition that moves him down the totem pole, though I’d love to be wrong on either count.
Lots of things to criticize Randle for but this isn’t it. Randle’s a willing passer- with one of the best assist numbers in the league for the past 3 years.
I’ll respectfully agree to disagree. ISO Randle is a thing and my eyes have sufficiently bled watching him do the Melo arm swing in front of the defender and dribble the shot clock down to 2 seconds before kicking out a rifled pass to a teammate with little left to do but hoist up a forced shot.
Mike Riordan- along with Cazzie Russell and Dave Stallworth- were known as the Minute Men on the first championship team. Before that Riordan was 'Give One Mike '. In the 60s an intentional foul was 1 free throw so some teams would foul at the end of a quarter to try and score 2 against the 1 free throw. Red Holzman would sub Riordan in with the instructions to 'give one Mike ' rather than have a starter risk foul trouble. Riordan's exuberance in 'giving one' made him a crowd favorite.
I think this concern about how Randle specifically would fit as a 1st, 2nd and 3rd option is really overthinking things. Knicks had 3 guys last year with 20 PPG and that was with RJ being really inefficient. Now, if you are keeping all 3, there is an issue in finding shots. But, Randle's not the biggest problem there (a few good playoff games for RJ notwithstanding).
Randle's still going to get the majority of his shots in the first half/first quarter and probably be the No. 1 option there. Then, as defenses double him, shots will open up for Brunson and whoever the "Superstar" is.
As for the clutch time in the 4th quarter, Randle shouldn't be the focus. But that's more a comment on this position than Randle specifically. Compare Randle's TS% in the clutch this past season to other prominent PFs. Randle - 51.9% KAT. He's better than 50.9% Frank Wagner (who I really like) 50.3% Tatum - 49.4% Giannis- 48% Horford - 48% Mikal Bridges - 47.9% AD- 47.1% Siakam - 45.1%.
Put some better shooters around him and his numbers probably go up in efficiency. Add a creator/shooter/superstar around him and he becomes more of a threat.
In summary, this assumption that Randle has to take a step back, adjust to a new role, etc., is not necessarily true. If the FO keeps Randle, they will figure it out.
I think this is very well said and I think this is solid evidence. Like you, I'm not really worried about how it'll look / work on offense. Defensively is where I'd be a bit worried depending on who they acquired.
I agree but there I hade confidence in Thibs. In the Miami series, team has positive +/- with Randle on the gooor on one leg and held Miami’s offense well below their numbers against Milwaukee and Boston. Haven’t checked the finals but I suspect Miami’s offense was better there as well.
I think it was Ben Rithols (sp?) who talked about keeping my guy Randle moving/switching on D. I think that's probably for the best. On offense Randle has been every kind of big wing man over his career, I wouldn't be worried about his effectiveness there.
I agree. Seems every year, people speculate that Randle can’t be successful for one reason or another in some mythical future offense. Unless the Knicks can find similar talent, health and reliability elsewhere for the same numbers, or unless Randle is a direct part of a trade for the Superstar, let’s just let it play out.
Yup. The most direct and IMO most likely path towards ascension for these Knicks is RJ Barrett being the guy we saw in the playoffs or before Luka chopped off his hand in the regular season.
IF Leon Rose decides moving Randle is the best path forward, the question becomes: who’s the trade partner? Randle has been very productive, but his position / style of play does not fit every team. In a vacuum, not considering every detail of a potential trade, the teams/rosters that *could* make sense on paper (but are also problematic for various reasons) include:
- Boston in a Jaylen Brown deal (would BOS ever do this? Doubtful)
- Dallas (1. They hate us. 2. They have trash to trade.)
- Golden State in a Dray deal (bet both teams say no here)
- Houston (what value could they possibly send back?)
- Minnesota in a KAT deal (might make most theoretical sense, but...well, we all understand the KAT concerns)
- New Orleans (1. concerns re: Zion should be 10x more than any other potential trade target, and 2. would NO even do this?)
- Portland (only makes sense if Dame stays AND they could swing another deal to vault into pseudo-contention)
I don’t know. If these odds were on FanDuel, I’d bet a large sum Randle is back next year in the same 1st / 2nd option role. I don’t see them finding a sensible deal, and I don’t see them making an addition that moves him down the totem pole, though I’d love to be wrong on either count.
Randle COULD be a great 3rd 🍌 but he WON’T. He’s this generation’s Melo.
... and that’s not intended as a compliment. Great stats... teammates are invisible to him.
Lots of things to criticize Randle for but this isn’t it. Randle’s a willing passer- with one of the best assist numbers in the league for the past 3 years.
I’ll respectfully agree to disagree. ISO Randle is a thing and my eyes have sufficiently bled watching him do the Melo arm swing in front of the defender and dribble the shot clock down to 2 seconds before kicking out a rifled pass to a teammate with little left to do but hoist up a forced shot.
People are entitled to their opinions. I'd counter that Randle looks to pass but the Knicks aren't blessed with shooters.