Knicks need Julius Randle to will them to a win in Miami again
Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) dribbles against Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) in the third quarter during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden on May 10, 2023. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
MIAMI — It’s not going to happen again.
Jimmy Butler is not going turn in another lukewarm performance in Game 6 on Friday night. The Knicks can’t count on him going 5-for-12 as he did in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Butler is used to being the best player on the floor in the postseason. So he understandably wasn’t all that happy with all the fuss being made over Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who had a near triple-double and played all 48 minutes of the Knicks’ season-extending 112-103 victory.
“If [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra] tells me to play 48 minutes, I’ll be suited and booted and ready to do that,” Butler said after the loss. “And we’ll win.”
The Knicks are going to need even more than they had on Wednesday night to beat a motivated Butler on Miami’s home floor. They are going to need the one thing they haven’t seen much of in the playoffs — a monster performance from their All-Star power forward Julius Randle.
While Brunson’s 38-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist game will be talked about by the Knicks' faithful for years, the team may have paid a price for that win. Both Brunson and Quentin Grimes, the main defender on Butler, played every minute of Game 5. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said he will play them for 48 minutes again if he needs to.
Sure, it’s the playoffs. But marathon games back-to-back is a lot to ask of anyone. This time, it’s Randle’s turn to step up.
As the gods of juxtaposition would have it, it was announced Wednesday that Randle had earned third-team All-NBA honors in recognition of a regular season in which he averaged a career-best 25.1 points to go with 10.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He also played the first 77 games, with a late-season ankle injury taking away any chance of him playing in all 82.
No one knows how much Randle’s ankle is still bothering him. My guess is the pain is still an issue given his fall off in the playoffs. Randle was instrumental in getting the Knicks to their fifth-place finish, but he has struggled to put together four dominating quarters in the playoffs. That was aptly illustrated by his up-and-down night in Game 5.
Randle looked like anything but an All-Star early on. In the first quarter, during which he was whacked hard in the eye by the Heat’s Bam Adebayo, Randle missed six of seven shots. He had only one rebound and a minus-10 rating while playing all 12 minutes, which ended with the Knicks, trailing 24-14.
Randle hit a three-pointer to close the first half, had a big third quarter and finished with 24 points. In the final quarter, however, when the Heat were mounting a comeback, Randle was 1-for-1 with just two points and no assists. Brunson, by contrast, had 10 fourth-quarter points with two assists.
Randle has to do better Friday night and the Knicks have to do things to try to get him going. In nine playoff games, Randle is averaging 16.8 points and 8.0 rebounds.
Randle can be an explosive scorer against the Heat. He did it in March in Miami when he dropped 46 points and the game-winner on them. He willed the Knicks to a win that game, their eighth straight, helping them overcome 33 points from Jimmy Butler and 29 from Tyler Herro.
The Knicks don’t need to worry about stopping Herro, who is out with a broken hand. But they need to be very worried about a ticked off and motivated Butler. The Miami star is ready to carry his team. He basically put the Knicks on notice in his postgame news conference on Wednesday night.
Randle helped carry his team all season. Now, he needs to do it one last time.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
