Julius Randle will get extra attention from Hawks in first round of playoffs
Knicks forward Julius Randle shoots against Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. in the second half of an NBA game on May 3, 2021, in Memphis, Tenn. Credit: AP/Brandon Dill
As the Knicks have embarked on their preparation for the first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, the scouting and planning booklets handed out, the film rolled until eyes glaze over, the one thing they know they can count on is Julius Randle.
But about 900 miles south, the Hawks are doing their preparation, too. And you can be sure that their scouting report has put Randle in boldface. Coach Nate McMillan cites the statistics off the top of his head, the 37.3 points per game that Randle torched them for as the Knicks swept all three regular-season meetings.
So in the chess game between the two young teams and the two veteran coaches you can be certain of this: The Hawks will do whatever they can to slow Randle and make someone else beat them. And Randle knows that this is a different situation.
"Don’t matter, man," Randle said of his regular-season success against the Hawks. "We’ve got Game 1 coming up on Sunday. I just got to be prepared for whatever comes at me and they throw my way. I’ll be prepared for it. Whatever happens during the game I’ve got to make the right plays and be aggressive and still make the right plays."
The common theme from the Knicks and Hawks — perhaps with good reason a little bit more from the Hawks — is that the regular season means nothing now. But it wasn’t just the MVP-like production against Atlanta this season that is a cause for concern from any team facing the Knicks, but the complete body of work that Randle has compiled.
If it puts a scare into the opposition, for the Knicks it is a security blanket.
"I think it does great for overall team confidence," Nerlens Noel said. "But we know we’re going to need everybody. Can’t depend on Julius the whole way out. We know that this is the playoffs. Teams are going to lock in on best players, best scorers, try to take away players' strengths, pushing their weaknesses.
"Guys are going to have to step up and go that much harder to fill a role or fill a gap. When they do double-team Julius, just playing off of it, finding strength to counter that. That’s something we’ll have to be ready for. Definitely, we have confidence in Julius. I know he’s been balling and he’ll be ready for it regardless."
It is the nature of the postseason. With a week to prepare for this first game and then the task of facing the same team for four to seven games, an experienced coach will have his team ready to take away what the opposition does best. For Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau that will mean plotting a way to negate point guard Trae Young. And he knows that the Hawks are planning the same for Randle.
"We have to understand the playoffs are a lot different than the regular season," Thibodeau said. "By that I mean, you don’t know where they are in the schedule, how much travel they have. Who’s out, who’s in. There’s a lot of things that factor into it. Once you get into the playoffs, teams are locked into you specifically. They’re going to know you inside and out. We’re going to know them inside and out. You have to be ready to play. Hopefully, you’ve built the proper habits getting you ready to play. And then you’re playing the same team over and over again. So there’s an intensity to it, a concentration to it and a will to it. We have to be ready."
And if the Hawks do figure out how to stop the regular-season version of Randle, he’s confident there is another level to reach.
"I definitely think I can," Randle said. "I definitely think I can improve, already know how I can improve going into the playoffs. I already know how I can improve going into next year, so I definitely think I can do better, for sure.
"Is it necessary? We’ll see, but I think it will be. We’ve said all year, prepping for the playoffs, I said it earlier, the intensity level is going to rise, the level of play, everything is going to rise. So I’m going to have to be better. Everybody’s going to have to be better if we want to accomplish what we want to accomplish. I’m looking forward to that as a competitor. I look forward to the challenge. All of us, we look forward to the challenge. It’s just going to bring the best out of us."
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
