[Ritholtz] I’m not excusing it, but the REASON Julius was ticked off is because the play-call was for him. They had run the same exact action for Julius the play prior, where’s he’s coming off a Mitch downscreen and got a bucket off Giannis. And Brunson here rejects that option and took it himself.
by SwellandDecay
20 Comments
I like how he framed it. Explanation isn’t justification. With the game Brunson was having and the fact they just ran the same exact play, can’t be mad at Brunson trying to surprise the defense by breaking the play. Led to an awful shot, but Brunson earned that, especially with Lillard on him.
He was 5/20 in this game and is shooting 25% on the year. JB had 45, Julius is fucking insane to be aggravated by this. Negative self awareness.
This part is obvious but also part of the problem with him. Think of how many times he blew off his teammates to take the shot himself and also missed, and no one on the floor shrugged and bitched. And as a side note, wtf is Randle getting plays called for him right now??!?
I get it why he might have been mad but it’s Brunson and he was having a good game. It still no excuse not to get back imo and be engaged on the other end.
So….big baby didn’t get the ball and poured about it.
Player with the hot hand took the shot instead.
It wasn’t a shot I would have liked my team to take in a 1 point game, but I sure as hell wouldn’t have called a play for the guy that’s 5/20.
The he decides to just give up in a 1 point game and play zero help defense that results in a score.
Was this guy never coached or taught accountability?!?
Yeah Brunson was having a monster game and Randle was having Randle game. So it made sense for Brunson to say f it I’ll do it myself. He missed but it was the right decision
It doesn’t matter if it was for him or not. You are on a team. Each player makes decisions that others might not agree with. You don’t pout and act like a little bitch when things don’t go your way. He’s just too emotional man it’s frustrating. Also this sound so dumb but I swear he never high fives hartenstein lol. It’s so petty but I swear he will never hit that man up
Brunson and Randle on paper should be like peanut butter and jelly on the court, at least on the offensive end. Instead because of moments like this, when egos instead of team ball and winning comes in, the reality is unfortunately underwhelming at times.
I hope Julius and Jalen can put it together more cohesively but right now it sort of feels like trying to put two separate, completely different and competing offensive schemes on the same floor when they play together especially later into close games. Something hasn’t quite clicked into place
Brunson is a point guard and the star of the team. It’s up to his discretion to make those calls or not, and I really don’t care if Randle wants to pout about it or not. So Randle is a selfish baby and the sky is blue.
Low key hated that shot by Brunson. I get it he broke the play, having a good game, but you still have other teammates to look for.
What really pissed me off is we were down by 1 damn point. We saw Randle walk back on D, fine… but he was actually near Dame and was able to distract him at the very least.
Why give Dame the ability to drive so easily for the and 1? It does not matter if you are pissed at the play, get back on D try to get a stop and get a game winner.
This was posted 2 days ago. Sounds like an excuse to me lmao
This is a concert that the 12 year olds in this sub will never understand.
According to them, Julius Randle is the worst player in the NBA and we should trade him for anybody. The team is perfect and he’s the only issue holding us back from contention.
Then you ask “who would you trade him for?” and they can never answer because they don’t think.
The Stockholm syndrome for Randle Stans is something else man. He’s a child who throws tantrums and isn’t a team player. There’s nothing to dissect here. Players take selfish shots all the time, Randle very much included. The difference is his teammates down pout and throw fits when he does it at the expense of the team. Literally one minute left down one. There’s no excuse. Man needs to go if we want any hope of turning this team into something resembling a contender.
How does he know any of this?
Hard to believe that the play was specifically for Randle. I think it was more likely action that gave Brunson the option to decide where to go. First time he opted to pass, second time he opted to drive. And frankly, given his efficient 45 point performance, and JR’s 5-20 repeat nightmare, it was probably the correct call.
Imagine calling a must make play for a player having the worst start to an NBA season in over 60 years.
Benji is such a gem.
Brother, you were shooting 25%. Plays aren’t being run through you anymore
I might be in the minority on this, but I really think Randle’s hand gesture is being a bit overblown.
If he was calling for the ball, and when he didn’t get it, threw his hands up in a super animated way in disgust or even yelled at Brunson…that’s one thing. But I don’t see that anywhere in the clip. I personally think it’s a bit more plausible to assume they had a designed play, that went awry, and he was disappointed it didn’t work out and the basket wasn’t made.
I’ve seen ppl say he was “visibly mad at Brunson and scolded him” and that he was clearly whining and moping after the shot was missed. Again, I kinda think that’s a reach. Doesn’t mean we can’t criticize him (and the rest of the team outside of Mitch) for not running back on defense tho, we definitely can.
But I understand the frustration and why some ppl would over-analyze his reaction. As I stated the other day, when you’re playing as poorly as he is, everything you do will be put under a microscope and hyper-fixated on…that’s just part of life.
It’s just wild to me that two screens at the top of the key then a elbow screen followed by a backdoor screen with Randle curling around the screen to get open is something someone had to write down. Like thats so elementary to even be called a play. But I have seen Randle have much more overt reactions to not getting his way. He does that every game with gestures and not getting back on defense so I can’t say his reaction was much worse than the usual.