\n\t<\/aside>\n\u201cWe wanted to see what we could get out of that group to start,\u2019\u2019 Thibodeau said. \u201cAnd then we started slow. We started the second half slow, so we just have to do better.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Randle\u2019s media boycott for the past few weeks has only compounded the feeling that he may not to be here much longer despite his contract extension signed last August.<\/p>\n
Thibodeau is faced with trying to put the best spin possible on Randle\u2019s downfall from All-Star to the key reason the Knicks haven\u2019t excelled this season.<\/p>\n
On the ESPN telecast, Jeff Van Gundy, Thibodeau\u2019s best friend, took subliminal shots at Randle in saying the starters need to emulate the bench and play with more grit.<\/p>\n
Thibodeau alluded to Randle\u2019s lack of hustle.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlayers are going to go through things, so there\u2019s a lot of things that he can do to help us,\u2019\u2019 Thiboodeau said. \u201cHis defense, rebounding, pushing the ball, attacking the rim and making reads. His scoring is always going to be there. He\u2019s going to score. Don\u2019t let that take away from any intensity that you have. Oftentimes, it\u2019s the hustle plays that get you going. That\u2019s probably the biggest thing.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
It was 11-2 before Thibodeau finally called timeout and 30-16 after the first period with the Pat Riley-inspired Miami defense ferocious.<\/p>\n
It never got much better. Miami\u2019s Jimmy Butler sliced through the Knicks\u2019 defense for 22 points and sharpshooters Duncan Robinson (25 points) and Tyler Herro killed the Knicks from deep, combining to shoot 10 of 17 from 3.<\/p>\n
Compounding the anti-Randle sentiment was Obi Toppin\u2019s big first half. He was active on the boards, hit a 3-pointer, drove strong to the basket for a layup and put down a circus alley-oop dunk on a fast break with Alec Burks as the deliverer.<\/p>\n
In six minutes, Toppin scored seven points \u2014 3 of 3 from the field. He was a plus-4 to Randle\u2019s minus-17 at intermission.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went against a championship-caliber team today we didn\u2019t bring the energy from the jump,\u2019\u2019 Toppin said. \u201cWe know what we got to do. We\u2019ll earn from the loss and get better from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fournier, meanwhile, suggested the Knicks didn\u2019t make a needed \u201cadjustment,\u201d and repeated it several times in what possibly could be a reference to Thibodeau.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time we play a team they\u2019re going to present different challenges,\u2019\u2019 Fournier said. \u201cWe have to be able to adapt depending upon what they do. My point is we have to adapt to what other teams are doing.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MIAMI \u2014 The Miami Heat showed why they may win the Eastern Conference, and the Knicks showed why they won\u2019t make the playoffs if they keep the status quo. Last season, the Knicks finished ahead of the Heat in the standings, and that just seems eons ago. The Knicks were pummeled from the opening tap<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[765,2389,507,215,409,910],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13327"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13327"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13329,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13327\/revisions\/13329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbanewsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}