The New York Knicks by offensive rating have a top five offense in NBA history, the Cleveland Cavaliers have the top defense in the league this year. Who’s going to win the battle of strength on strength? Gavin Schall is joined by Chris Manning to break down the key factors including Julius Randle’s health, how the Cavs plan on guarding Jalen Brunson, whether or not RJ Barrett can be a difference maker and so much more!
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1 Comment
Correct me if I'm wrong. And I'm going in depth.
Put Julius in pick n rolls / pick n pop situations with Brunson ; which has happened maybe 2 or 3 times this entire season.
When The Cavs or any team in general, wall Julius out the paint with those double teams.. (Julius was 3rd in double teams drawn in the NBA before the injury)
he still may hold that spot. Brunson was around 7th.
So when Julius is doubled… Because Mitch is clogging the paint with no offensive game…
The spacing around Julius is compromised more than anyone on the team.. Possibly in the entire league.
And nobody says anything about it.
It's not just Mitch… Pay attention to the rest of the team when Julius is trapped with a double.
On occasion, Quentin Grimes may be the only one mindful enough to relocate to give Julius an open passing angle..
But majority of the time.. The team is glued to the floor.. Standing still. Not moving.
What does this lead to?
It leads to Julius holding the ball looking for a passing angle, much longer than he should be.
This is when you see those dangerous jump passes that barely make it to a teammate.
He has no choice but throw the defense off.. But people have the nerve to blame him for those passes.
This is when you hear fans say "Julius is a ball stopper" while ignoring the two 8 & 9 game win streaks we had with him.
Playing 11 games without Brunson and the team still stayed afloat.
Brunson is not out here like J kidd or Rondo setting him up… So Randle works hard for his own baskets.
Led the team in PPG and the 3rd most double teamed player in the league.
So Brunson wasn't the reason for his performance this year.
He just gave him a ball handler.. Actual help so Julius isn't tasked with everything.
Which is not a necessity.. Julius is SUPPOSE to have help like all the other top players in the league do.
So Randle is a ball stopper….Which above the surface this is true.. But why is that happening?
His instinct is to attack the basket.. But because of how the roster is constructed and the lack of coaching of the little details that matter…What does this lead to for Julius?
It leads to him holding the ball to read if the double is actually coming..
If they don't send a double.. Then he has to create a rhythm jumpshot..
Even if the double doesn't come.. He has to live on jumpshots because there is hardly any room to attack the paint.
Why is there hardly any room for Julius to attack? Outside of Mitch..
When teams are focused on Julius… There should be off ball screens being set to free up the next teammate and guys relocating / cutting.
The Knicks do a poor job playing around Julius. When RJ & Grimes are actually making their 3's …then it looks fine.
But we know RJ is not consistent.. Grimes shooting was up & down this year..
When their shots are not falling it makes it worse for Julius.
Even when Hartenstein is placed in the line up with Julius… He's not used correctly..
Hartenstein should be passer from top of the key… Put Julius and RJ in the corner.. Have all 5 guys spread out with the ball in Hartenstein's hands.
For example Julius can now flash quickly to the paint and Hartenstein can utilize his passing to get Julius easier/quicker looks at the basket
You can run the same play with RJ & OBI to get them shots at the rim & not settling for 3's.
People may say… Well Randle needs to play more like Obi.
Randle cannot play that fast all game.. All season long ; when Thibs does a horrible job spotting his minutes.
Randle plays the entire 1st quarter. Half of the 2nd.
The entire 3rd and then more than half of the 4th to close..
The only way Julius can manage his body all season is to play slower & give half effort on defense
Thibs doesn't spot his minutes.
It's different for Obi. He's playing with house money..
Then there's also this.. Jalen Brunson is one of the best catch N shoot 3pt shooters by %
Why don't we see a little of that 2 man game with Randle and Brunson — as we did with Randle/Fournier/Bullock???
Bullock's best season was playing next to Julius. Fournier set a Knicks record playing next to Julius.
I can only assume the Julius/Jalen 2 man game would be more effective since Jalen has a much bigger bag
We also don't see enough of Mitch receiving the roll pass…
I don't care if they foul Mitch and put him on the line..
This is a marathon… Use multiple ways to get the Cavs in foul trouble so the Knicks can keep attacking..
Defensively the intensity drops when a team is in foul trouble early.
I've said a whole lot but I know i made plenty of sense.
Sadly, the Knicks will make it harder on themselves