The Knicks looked like trouble with Jalen Brunson in their starting line-up and Julius Randle getting in his groove, but now their bench seems to be a problem
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After acquiring the former Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, the New York Knicks looked to have solved the problem of offensive flow in the starting line-up.
Starting their pre-season with big wins against the Detroit Pistons (117-96) and the Indiana Pacers (131-114), who were also playing with their best line-ups, proves Brunson’s big impact.
But in their third game which was again against the Pacers, they showed the NBA a glaring problem that wasn’t one until last season. It is their bench.
Julius Randle might be happy as he got his touch back, but his son and Knicks fans aren’t
Knicks’ bench led by Derrick Rose was undermined last year by the inefficiency and overall poor gameplay of their starting line-up.
And now that they look to have resolved that issue, their bench is swapping places and performing poorly and the Knicks enthusiasts can’t be feeling more tormented.
Even Julius Randle’s 5-year-old kid was sick of the New York team’s underwhelming performance against the Pacers on Wednesday.
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Coach Thibodeau is really concerned about the bench
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau literally went from Coach of the Year in 2021 to one of the most frustrated men on the sidelines last season, when Randle and Co were struggling to earn each win of their total of 37 wins and 45 losses.
Now that Randle, RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, and Evan Fournier are all looking good alongside Brunson, Tom would fancy his teams’ chances once again in the ever-so-tight Eastern Conference.
But not like this, not with this kind of effort from the bench which contributed to just 39 points, shooting 14/45 from the field and playing an average of more than 22 minutes in a 109-100 loss to the Pacers.
“It’s more than just Julius. Its how is Julius fitting in with the starters? How are the starters playing as a unit? That’s more what I look at,” Tom said while being critical of his bench, according to the New York Post.
But he did make it about Julius and continued, “how are we complimenting Julius? How are we bringing the best out of Julius? How is Julius bringing the best out of his team? I’ve been pleased with our starters in general.”