The Whiteboard: Knicks need MIP Julius Randle, Russ is right and more

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Through two playoff games, Julius Randle has shot 11-for-39 from the floor.

It’s honestly nothing short of a miracle the New York Knicks are heading to Atlanta for Game 3 with this first-round series knotted at one game piece.

Although Randle (rightfully) won the NBA‘s Most Improved Player award this season, the postseason has seen him regress in a big way. While he’s averaging 15.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game against the Atlanta Hawks so far, it’s only come on 28.2 percent shooting, including 4-for-13 (30.8 percent) from 3-point range.

The Knicks bounced back from a 15-point deficit in Game 2 with a big third-quarter run thanks to Derrick Rose and Randle’s 11 points in the period, but if this team wants to have any hope of winning this series, it needs MIP Randle to enter the series.

During the regular season, the 26-year-old forward was an absolute bully in every aspect of the game. Putting up 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game on 45.6 percent shooting from the field and a career-high 41.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc, Randle got pretty much anything he wanted, pretty much wherever he wanted. The development of his ball-handling, particularly with his ability to suddenly knock down step-back 3s, unlocked a new level of his game and cemented him as the best player on the 4-seed in the East.

Through these first two playoff games, that same Randle has yet to make an extended appearance. He shot 6-for-23 in Game 1, and only had 2 points on 0-of-6 shooting halfway through Game 2. But something may have clicked in that third quarter, when he dropped 11 of his 15 points for the game and finished the second half shooting 5-for-10. If the Knicks want to steal back home-court advantage with a win in Atlanta, they’ll need the real Julius Randle to please stand up.

Russell Westbrook is absolutely right

We’re not going to waste too much breath on the actual first-round matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards; the Wizards can’t stop Philly’s Big 3, and we’re probably heading for a gentleman’s sweep at best here.

Instead, let’s talk about Russell Westbrook. More specifically, how vile it was for some Sixers fan to think it’d be funny to dump popcorn on Russ as he was exiting Game 2 with an ankle injury. The Wizards star had to be restrained, and understandably so. He also had some strong words for the league, and he’s absolutely right.

It’s just popcorn!, you might be thinking. What’s the big deal?

Well, aside from missing the whole point of how disrespectful an act it is to dump any type of food on another person, there are even more components to consider. Like how these world-class athletes are human beings who are not simply here for our amusement. Like how NBA fans — and sports fans in general — feel entitled to treat these players like trash simply because they “paid good money” for a ticket. Or like how there’s an undeniable racial component when predominantly white fanbases lob expletives, slurs and now food at players who are predominantly Black.

It’s not just some isolated incident either; that very same night in Madison Square Garden, some New York Knicks fan evidently spit on Trae Young.

Sadly, for many of these fans, it’s less of an appreciation of the beauty of the sport and the artistry of the otherworldly athletes who play it at the highest level, and more of an expectation to be entertained, like they simply bought a trip to an amusement park or a ticket to the circus. It’s rooted in a blind, abstract allegiance to a city, a team or even an aesthetically pleasing jersey rather than the players who create those ties in the first place. For many, prioritizing loyalty to a team name, an organization and a set of uniform colors over actual human beings will feel standard, instead of a truly weird component of the social construct of sports fandom.

Fans have every right to cheer for their favorite teams and players. Booing is a natural part of any sport and it isn’t inherently bad, to a certain point. Even some good-natured heckling has its place in such a competitive environment! But as polarizing as Westbrook may be for his on-court demeanor, he’s the type of competitor any fan would love to root for on their own team, and off the court, he’s made more charitable donations and done more good for his community than almost anyone who was at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night.

So to witness that kind of behavior just because Westbrook is “unlikeable” or “the enemy” of Philly sports fans right now is sickening.

After having the last 14 months to reflect on the sanctity of life during a pandemic that killed millions, to let the incredibly simple message of Black Lives Matter resonate, and to spend more time working on bettering ourselves while being deprived of large social gatherings, it’s incredibly disheartening to see that, at our first sporting events in what feels like forever, some people didn’t learn a damn thing.

Ja Morant and the Grizzlies are going to be special

Even after stealing Game 1 on the road, the Memphis Grizzlies probably aren’t going to win this first-round series. Donovan Mitchell may not have shot the ball well in his return for Game 2, but his arrival had the Utah Jazz looking a bit more like the top-seeded team everyone expected heading into these playoffs. Over the course of seven games, the talent gap typically bears itself out (pun intended).

But that doesn’t mean this series is one to ignore either, because these young Grizzlies are fun. Even in Game 2, which ultimately ended in a 141-129 victory for the Jazz, Memphis battled all the way back to make it a game again by the end of the third quarter — and that’s with Jaren Jackson Jr. being incredibly raw still, Brandon Clarke completely out of the rotation and Ja Morant only being 21 years old.

Much like the Phoenix Suns, this inexperienced squad hasn’t balked under the bright lights of their first postseason appearance, nor have they backed down from their heavily-favored opponent. Morant dropped 47 points against a top-five defense on Wednesday night, and he did it while only making two of his seven 3-point attempts. That’s special, and he’s just the centerpiece of an already good team that has the potential to be a problem for years to come between Jackson, Clarke, Dillon Brooks, De’Anthony Melton, Desmond Bane and Xavier Tillman.

Most people expected the Golden State Warriors to wind up in this play-in spot, but the Grizzlies had other plans. The same penchant for bucking the established order of things has applied to the first two games of this David and Goliath matchup. But even if Memphis simply gets beat by a better team, every unexpected counterpunch they throw will serve as a tantalizing reminder of what’s to come over these next few years. It might not be long before all this pebble-flinging turns to fatal blows from a legitimate Western Conference giant.

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