Perhaps taking a cue from Mets players who directed thumbs-down gestures toward home fans who booed them in 2021, Knicks forward Julius Randle gave a thumbs-down signal following a basket in the second half of Thursday’s comeback win over Boston, as Marc Berman writes for The New York Post.
Asked after the game what message he was hoping to convey, Randle didn’t mince words: “To shut the f–k up.”
The veteran forward hinted that it may have been a response to Knicks fans booing the team earlier the game, when the Celtics built a big lead.
“You saw that,” Randle said. “You saw what was going on with that. Forget. Forget.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Derrick Rose had been on crutches and away from the Knicks since undergoing ankle surgery on December 22, but he’s set to return the club’s practice facility to begin his rehab process, head coach Tom Thibodeau said on Thursday. “Rehab is his game right now,” Thibodeau said (link via Berman). “He just got cleared to start his physical therapy. Everything is going well. Put everything you have into that. Once it’s good for him to get out there, he’ll get out.”
- Asked in a mailbag about Mitchell Robinson‘s potential future in New York, Ian Begley of SNY.tv said there are decision-makers in the organization who “don’t love what they’ve seen” from the young center this season. As Begley notes, Thibodeau recently stated that Robinson is still “behind” in his conditioning, suggesting the team believes he could be in better shape. The 23-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
- In case you missed it, we passed along a few more Knicks notes on Thursday.
What a huge mistake Randle has made…. Who the heck is advising and talking to this guy ??
He got his contract. Payday makes the boos go away.
JR owns the Knicks fans!!!
I love watching basketball but I never played it. To my eyes, Randle’s game is frustrating. It’s not smooth. But I absolutely love his grit, his tenacity, his leadership and work ethic. I love his family watching in the stands. I’m totally cool with his frustration coming out and giving the thumbs down to the fans. Unlike the other snowflakes in the league that are playing in obscurity and are too afraid to come to the garden and melt under the hot lights, JULIUS HAD THE BALLS TO SIGN HERE AND TAKE THE ARROWS. New York doesn’t care about your individual numbers, you need to win here. Can you imagine the meltdown from LBJ and KD getting booed for not winning a title in the garden? You are the best Julius, hang tough and go convince one of these other league participation trophy winners to join you at the garden.
Let’s be honest Leon and Wide Wes were suppose to be so connected with all these NBA stars and they sign Evan Fournier and can’t even get a cup of ☕ with DeMar DeRozan who is playing like a All Star and a MVP . All these Delusional Knick fans wanted no part of DeRozan and honestly I wanted him so bad but now I bet all us Knick fans wouldn’t mind the mid range assassin lighting up MSG instead of watching Fournier RJ and Randall with the Hit or Miss circus act every other game. Leon the Honeymoon is over get a freaking Bonafide star here because we can’t be the middle of the pack for ever because we won’t be so bad where we will draft a franchise changing player and we won’t be good enough to attract potional free agents like DeMar DeRozan Or Fred Vanbleet who wouldn’t even sit down with us for a cup of ☕. I agree with Marc Berman this time Leon Scott Perry had the most cap space last summer and they came up empty lame and they rolled Snake eyes and if you don’t believe me just look at Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker who is a cheerleader again. Will Leon make a decent trade or will he talk to Knick fans before the next milulinum. This man talks more than the Gestapo which ain’t saying much.