Knicks Drown in Nets Threes 122 – 115
The Brooklyn Nets rained threes in their victory over the Knicks. Brooklyn was 22 – 40 for 55%. This barrage resulted in 31 assists. New York was a modest 10 – 28 for 35.7%. Both squads were above 50% overall. It was a close game because New York was 7 points better from the charity stripe. The Nets were an atrocious 8 – 14, and Ben Simmons didn’t play.
Lack of defense by both teams allowed both teams to score 34 points in the final quarter. Only Kyrie Irving’s heroics ensured a Nets victory. Jalen Brunson did his best to match Irving, but it was Kyrie who prevailed.
It was interesting that Coach Vaughn didn’t start Edmond Sumner after he had dominated Jalen Brunson in November. Jalen was 4 -14, 1 – 5 with 2 assists and 3 TOs in 31 mins. Sumner was 7 – 10, 3 – 4 for 18 points. He did a terrific job using his quickness to harass Brunson. A strategy that has worked well against the Knicks has been to go all out in slowing down Jalen Brunson with superior defenders like Isaac Okoro and Scottie Barnes, even though they are forwards.
Julius Randle struggled against Royce O’Neale on both ends of the floor. Jules gave up 3 quick baskets from deep, while being closely guarded when he had the ball. To his credit, Randle wracked up 6 assists and only 3 TOs while still managing to score 19 points on 7 – 16, 1 – 6. wit 10 boards. It would be an acceptable night for Julius Randle IF he brought the solid D that we have seen too infrequently this year.
RJ Barrett’s play continues to make a case for IQ being the better, more impactful player. He has all of Julius Randle’ faults without half Jules talent. Barrett should forget about hunting points and concentrate on getting stops. Barrett and Randle’s poor defense may be no more than their impatience to get the ball back so they can score. If Randle put in the effort and attention on defense, he would be a perennial all-star.
Randle is a thin skinned individual who takes the vicissitudes of life personally. If Jules is protecting his ego by avoiding being beaten off the dribble, he is sadly mistaken. His lack of D has kept him off the all-star team, More importantly, his lack of defensive effort has made a Knicks team that should hold on to 6th place, a play in team, at best.
Box Score: https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401468897