- The Knicks are continuing to search for answers at point guard, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. New York has mostly played without Derrick Rose due to injury, but former All-Star Kemba Walker recently decided to shut it down after receiving inconsistent minutes. The team has also given Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley heavy minutes. It trails the Hawks by six games for the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Knicks power forward Julius Randle has been fined $50K by the NBA, the league announced in a tweet. Randle was fined for initiating an on-court altercation with Suns forward Cameron Johnson, making contact with a game official, and for not complying with an NBA investigation.
Randle received two technical fouls and was ejected for the incident, while Johnson received a single technical. It occurred with 2:40 remaining in the third quarter of New York’s 115-114 loss at Phoenix on Friday night.
Randle had 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes when he was tossed from the game. The Knicks were leading at the time, but wound up losing when Johnson banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer, giving New York its 17th defeat in the last 20 games.
The Knicks reportedly have concerns about Randle’s “overall psyche” after the latest in a series of incidents from the 27-year-old. Randle’s behavior is potentially a long-term concern for the franchise considering that he received a four-year, $117MM extension during the offseason, including a player option in 2025/26.
The reigning Most Improved Player, Randle has taken a step back from his second-team All-NBA performance from last season. He’s still posting nice counting stats of 19.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, but his shooting line of .417/.301/.765 has fallen off from last season’s .456/.411/.811, his turnovers are up and his assists are down. Randle has also been lackadaisical at times defensively after showing great effort on that end last season.
The Knicks are concerned about Julius Randle‘s “overall psyche” after a season-long series of incidents that included an ill-timed ejection Friday night, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Randle had 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes when he was tossed from the game with 2:40 left in the third quarter following an altercation with the Suns’ Cameron Johnson. Both players received technical fouls, and Randle got a second technical for making contact with an official who was trying to separate them. The Knicks were leading at the time, but wound up losing when Johnson banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer, giving New York its 17th defeat in the last 20 games.
Coach Tom Thibodeau admitted afterward that Randle used bad judgment, saying, “You can’t cross over that line. You’ve got to know where to stop.’’
The ejection was the latest incident involving Randle this season, Berman notes, a list that includes giving a “thumbs-down” gesture to fans at Madison Square Garden and repeated battles with referees and assistant coaches.
The source tells Berman that Randle didn’t report to training camp in top physical condition like he did last season when he was named Most Improved Player and was a second-team All-NBA selection.
There are also theories that he’s jealous of RJ Barrett, who has surpassed him as the team’s top star. Berman points out that Randle has skipped the player introductions during the last six road games, although he still participates at home.
Asked on Friday if he was concerned about Randle’s well-being, Thibodeau responded, “I’m concerned about everything.”
Randle’s behavior is potentially a long-term concern for the franchise considering that he received a four-year, $117MM extension during the offseason, including a player option in 2025/26. If the Knicks decide to try to trade him this summer, they’ll likely have to take back at least one bad contract in return.
Knicks guard Derrick Rose isn’t expected to ramp up his activity for at least one more week, head coach Tom Thibodeau said, as relayed by Steve Popper of Newsday. Rose underwent ankle surgery in December and had a second procedure last week to address an infection.
“He can’t really do much,” Thibodeau explained. “Just got to be patient, let it clear up. That’s it . . . He’s not supposed to be doing a lot right now other than follow [medical advice]. He’s been pretty diligent with that. He can walk around. He can form shoot if he’s not leaving his feet. He can’t do a whole lot right now. Hopefully in a week or so that’ll be cleared up.”
As Popper notes, Rose was with the team at shootaround on Friday. The Knicks went 30-17 after acquiring him last season, as the 33-year-old averaged 14.9 points and 4.2 assists per game off the bench. He has only appeared in 26 games this season.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Sixers superstar James Harden won’t play on Saturday against the Heat, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Harden will sit as part of his scheduled left hamstring management. Philadelphia is 4-0 in the games he’s played, which includes a 125-119 win over Cleveland on Friday.
- The Knicks could benefit from the Mavericks’ crowded backcourt if they pursue Jalen Brunson in free agency this summer, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. Brunson has averaged a career-high 16.0 points and 5.3 assists in 32.1 minutes per game this season. Dallas recently traded for Spencer Dinwiddie, who is under contract next season with a cap hit of $19.5MM.
- Heat guard Tyler Herro has been surging since the All-Star break, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Herro has averaged 25.8 points in his last five games, working to attack more than he was before the break. “I think people know I’m a shooter. I shoot the ball well,” Herro said. “But I think my best thing is off the dribble, getting in the paint, attacking, getting to the mid-range, getting to the rim. I think that’s what I do best. I think I’m hard to stay in front of when you’re playing the shot and then my handle gets me to where I want to go.”
Nets guard Kyrie Irving has picked a new agent and it’s someone close to him. He’s hired Shetellia Riley Irving, which would apparently make her the only Black woman representing a current player, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. She’s Kyrie’s stepmother and a VP of ad sales at media company BET, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets.
Irving’s contract includes a player option worth at least $36.5MM for the 2022/23 season. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he opts out.
We have more from the New York teams:
- With Kemba Walker shut down for the season and Derrick Rose recovering from a minor procedure on his ankle, the Knicks are thin at the point. They’re currently going with Alec Burks as the starter and Immanuel Quickley on the second unit. Until Rose is ready, coach Tom Thibodeau said he doesn’t anticipate a change, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “That’s the best we have, so that’s what we’re doing, and they’re capable,’’ he said.
- Following his 46-point eruption against Miami last week, Jimmy Butler said that wing RJ Barrett was going to be “the face of the Knicks.” The New York Post’s Ian O’Connor writes that Barrett must not allow the state of the franchise to hold him back from being an All-Star player. O’Connor notes that the franchise hasn’t drafted, developed and held onto a star player since Patrick Ewing.
- There won’t a minutes restriction on Kevin Durant in his return to action Thursday, Nick Friedell of ESPN tweets. However, Durant and acting coach Jacque Vaughn — who is filling for Steve Nash (health and safety protocols) — will be in constant communication during the game to monitor how he’s feeling.
Injuries have left the Knicks thin at point guard, but they’ve been reluctant to turn to second-round pick Miles McBride, who has been putting up big numbers in the G League, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. McBride is averaging 29.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game for the team’s Westchester affiliate. He seems like a natural alternative with Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose both sidelined, but has only played 22 NBA games so far, logging 7.0 minutes per night.
“It’s definitely been challenging,” McBride said. “Obviously growing up, never had to deal with sitting a lot. But it’s the NBA. It should be challenging. The task they’re giving me, being able to play in the G League and being able to come back to the team, it’s been fun. So just trying to enjoy every day and taking the challenge head on.”
McBride appeared to have a breakthrough game December 16 in Houston when he started the second half after Rose was injured and wound up with 15 points, nine assists and four steals. However, he tested positive for COVID-19 the next day and has barely played since. He said the coaching staff is urging him to be patient.
“The feedback is, ‘you’re young, you’re a rookie, the opportunities you get, take them,’” McBride said. “And some things happen along with it.”
There’s more from New York:
- Despite their troubles this season, the Knicks may have hope for the future because they’ve prioritized roster flexibility and stockpiled draft picks, notes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Five of the six contracts they handed out last summer included a team option, and although they sent a protected Hornets’ pick to the Hawks in exchange for Cam Reddish, they still have a generous supply of draft choices remaining. Even so, rival executives are skeptical that the Knicks can turn things around quickly because they don’t have a star player already on the roster. “If they are going to give up their picks and swaps to get someone, it doesn’t matter who they are trading,” a Western Conference executive said. “But if their hope was to turn these guys into good players by themselves, I’d be hard-pressed to see a team thinking they’ll take that for a star.”
- Among the Knicks’ concerns for the future is that their two best players, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, haven’t played well together, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. In the 1,418 minutes they’ve shared the court this season, New York has a minus-6.8 net rating, and that number has fallen to minus-9.9 over the past 11 games, Bondy states.
- It could be more than a week before the Knicks have an update on Rose, who had a surgical procedure last week for a skin infection on his right ankle, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
All-Star forward Kevin Durant could return from his sprained left knee MCL as soon as this Thursday or Saturday, Nets head coach Steve Nash indicated, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. Durant has been sidelined since injuring his knee on January 5.
“We’re hopeful that he can play this week,” Nash said. “So Kevin’s getting close, which is exciting.”
In the 36 games he has been healthy, Durant has been his typical All-NBA self for the Nets. This season, he is averaging 29.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 5.8 APG, with shooting splits of .520/.372/.894.
“He’s going to come back and impact the game every way possible,” new Nets starting center Andre Drummond said of Durant. “I think with our chemistry together on the floor, it’s going to make it very difficult for teams to pick their poison, with who they want to guard, along with Kyrie [Irving], Seth [Curry] and when Ben [Simmons] comes back. And we go on the list of our roster, we have a lot of threats.”
There’s more out of the City That Never Sleeps:
- Rich Paul, the agent for new Nets addition Ben Simmons, told Brian Windhorst of ESPN (video link) that Simmons should be thought of as “week-to-week” with back soreness as he works his way into game shape ahead of his 2021/22 season debut. Windhorst expressed uncertainty about whether Simmons would even be ready at any point in March for Brooklyn, suggesting that he’s “frankly not close” to debuting for his new team.
- With Knicks wing Quentin Grimes unavailable for much of the remaining season, new swingman Cam Reddish finally has a path to regular rotation minutes in New York, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “I’m trying to work my way in,” Reddish said. “Just trying to make the right play, really. Not trying to force it too much. But yeah, I think the last 20 games are definitely a good spot to start.” In 11 games with New York thus far, Reddish is averaging 5.4 PPG, 1.0 RPG and 0.7 SPG across 12.5 MPG.
- With the 25-36 Knicks seemingly stuck on the outside of the play-in race looking in, rookie reserve center Jericho Sims has been getting some run as New York looks towards the future, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “[Sims is] a great kid, great worker, getting better day by day,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said Tuesday. “Very diligent. Comes in and watches film and wants to do well. So I think this experience is really good for him.” Sims has displaced Nerlens Noel in the rotation as Noel continues to grapple with a plantar fasciitis injury. 36-year-old veteran center Taj Gibson has also been a healthy scratch for the last two games in favor of the No. 58 pick in the 2021 draft.
The Knicks held a lead early in the fourth quarter on Sunday vs. Philadelphia, but ultimately lost by 16 points, prompting Evan Fournier to try to diagnose the cause of the club’s late-game struggles, per Greg Joyce of The New York Post.
“Our togetherness down the stretch is not good enough,” Fournier said. “By togetherness I mean we are not tied together enough. Down the stretch, like I said, we have no confidence, so we are second-guessing at times. It should be second nature — boom, boom, boom, this is what we’re doing. As long as we are not doing that, it’s going to be hard to close out games against teams that are good. It keeps happening and that’s what’s so frustrating.”
As Joyce points out, the Knicks’ fourth-quarter net rating in their last 10 games is an abysmal -34.9, easily the worst mark in the NBA. The offense, which has a fourth-quarter rating of 85.9 in those 10 games, has been especially bad — Portland has the league’s next-worst fourth-quarter offensive rating during that stretch, at 100.0. Joyce believes having a veteran point guard like Derrick Rose running the show would help.
“I feel like we’re in a position right now where we are down two or down three, teams get on a run, it’s like, ‘Oh s–t, again,'” Fournier said. “Maybe just a good win would help us more, more confidence would help.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- While Nerlens Noel has technically been active for the Knicks’ last couple games and could theoretically have played, he’s “far from 100% healthy,” a source tells Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who provides some additional info on Noel’s plantar fasciitis. The injury first flared up on February 7, Begley adds, noting that it’s unclear whether the big man will get back to 100% before the end of the regular season.
- The Knicks have had talks throughout the season with Mitchell Robinson‘s agent Thad Foucher about a possible contract extension for the young center, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said during a TV appearance on Sunday (video link). A source tells Begley that in one of those conversations prior to last month’s trade deadline, the two sides were “not close” on the proposed terms. New York can offer up to about $55MM on a four-year extension, but presumably hasn’t gotten nearly that high.
- Robinson, who griped earlier in the season about “literally running for cardio,” still appears dissatisfied with his limited involvement on offense. Replying to a tweet from a fan on Monday night, Robinson wrote, “Everyone knows when everybody gets involved and the ball moving and everyone touching the ball, the energy and effort goes to another level. Let me ask you this and be 100% with your answer: How would you feel just running up and down the court for 48 or even for 20 minutes?”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau refused to answer whether he expects Derrick Rose to return in March from a minor ankle procedure, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday (via Twitter) that Rose could return in one or two weeks.
“Yeah, I wish I could answer that, but I can’t,” Thibodeau said. “Obviously, he needs some time right now. You just have to sort of let him go through it and be patient with it.”
Rose’s procedure addressed a skin infection in the area of his December ankle surgery, according to Wojnarowski. Rose has only played in 26 of the Knicks’ 61 games this season. The team ranks 12th in the East with a 25-36 record and has lost five straight games.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference tonight:
- The Cavaliers are looking to re-establish their defensive identity entering March, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic writes. Cleveland most recently put forth a strong defensive performance against Washington, winning the contest 92-86. “To be honest with you, I was less concerned about the results and more concerned about the effort and the performance,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “If we do the things and play the way that we play, I can live with whatever the results are. I just thought that our past two games, we weren’t ourselves. So win or loss, if we’re ourselves, and the best version of ourselves, we can live with that.”
- Knicks center Nerlens Noel has been dealing with plantar fasciitis since before the All-Star break, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Noel hasn’t played in the team’s last six games. He’s appeared in 25 games this season (11 starts), averaging 3.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per outing.
- The Bucks season-long struggles showed up against the Nets on Saturday, Eric Nehm of The Athletic writes. Nehm believes the team’s third-quarter performances have been a major issue. Milwaukee lost the third quarter 43-34 and dropped the contest 126-123. “To be honest, man, sh–, they just kicked our butt in the third quarter,” Bobby Portis said. “They scored 43 points. I mean we scored enough just to keep it close, but I mean that’s been our kryptonite the whole year. I’m kind of just tired of talking about it, bro. I don’t know what we can do, what we’re going to do. … we’ve been talking about this since December, man, and in a couple of days, it’s gonna be March, so we gotta figure that out, and soon, man. The season’s about to be over.”
- The slumping Knicks could use a boost from Immanuel Quickley, who is mired in a long shooting slump, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Quickley, who’s expected to become a primary ball-handler off the bench with Derrick Rose and Kemba Walker both unavailable, is shooting 30.7% from the field and 26.6% from three-point range in his last 19 games. “Teammates tell me all the time, sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t, but you just gotta keep the main thing, which is playing defense every night, playing hard every night and just bringing other things to the table,” Quickley said. “You can do other things good when you don’t shoot well. You can still bring other things to win.”