Knicks Notes: On Julius Randle's ankle and Quentin Grimes' potential

Tom Thibodeau rarely criticizes players publicly. So if you were looking for Thibodeau to critique Julius Randle after Wednesday’s Knicks loss to Cleveland, you were going to be disappointed. Thibodeau said he thought the refs missed some calls on Randle during his 3-for-15 night against the Hawks. He expressed confidence that Randle would start to hit shots soon.

And he also offered some insight into why Randle’s shot has been off early in the season.

“Any time a player has surgery there’s gonna be [an adjustment] because it’s different in the offseason, particularly for him,” Thibodeau said Wednesday night. “He’s got a pretty strong routine that he likes to adhere to, and this summer was different. And sometimes that can be beneficial, too. It’ll come around for him. He’s gotta go through things, and I think the more that he does it, the better he’ll get.”

Randle had arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle about three weeks after the Knicks’ last game of the season. He originally hurt the ankle in late March. Randle missed the rest of the regular season and returned for the start of the playoffs. He reinjured the ankle during the postseason and missed one game.

Randle didn’t use the injury as an excuse during the playoffs. He similarly isn’t blaming his slow start this season on ankle surgery.

In 41 games before his injury, Randle averaged 27 points on 45 percent shooting, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

In the first five games post-surgery, Randle is averaging 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on just 28 percent shooting.

The Knicks need Randle and Jalen Brunson to shoot better to get where they want to go this season. Brunson is shooting 38 percent from the field, though 43 percent from beyond the arc through five games.

When asked about it on Wednesday night, Randle said he wasn’t feeling frustrated after five games.

“I stay even. It’ll fall eventually,” he said. “It’s a long season. 82 game-season. I trust the work, like I said, that I put in in a day-to-day basis. So it’s no point in me being frustrated. I just go with the flow and try to affect the game in other ways.”

Randle seemed to be going at well below 100 percent on some plays against Cleveland on Wednesday. He also had some strong defensive possessions (forcing Donovan Mitchell into a tough shot with 2:42 to go in the third).

Randle isn’t the first NBA player to loaf during a defensive possession. That doesn’t justify the approach. But I think the Knicks’ issues on Wednesday extended beyond just Randle.

I’m not here to tell anyone how to analyze the Knicks or how to approach their fandom. But I think New York – and Randle – has shown enough over the last 11 months to earn the benefit of the doubt after five games. If New York is still struggling after 15-20 games, I think there will be ample reason for concern. I don’t see it yet, though. Just my opinion.

CORRECTION ON RJ BARRETT'S KNEE

Barrett missed Wednesday’s game due to left knee soreness. In a report on Honda SportsNite on Wednesday and again on The Putback on Thursday, I cited Barrett hurting his knee against Boston in the season opener as a reason for concern. Barrett hurt his right knee on the play I cited. His current injury is to his left knee, per the Knicks. Apologies for the error here. My main point still stands: Barrett is an incredibly important piece of the puzzle for the Knicks so any injury to his knee is concerning.

REDICK HIGH ON QUENTIN GRIMES

JJ Redick will be calling the Knicks-Bucks game on Friday with Richard Jefferson and Ryan Ruocco. Knicks-Bucks will be the first pool play game for the NBA’s new in-season tournament. On a conference call earlier this week, Redick questioned those who are skeptical of the tournament.

“If I’m in the NBA and I get a chance to go to Vegas in the middle of the season to get a chance to play for some money, some pride and a trophy, I’m all in,” Redick said.

Redick also answered a question on the call about Grimes. Grimes and Redick worked together twice over the summer.

“Really like him. He’s got a great spirit. Really outstanding work ethic,” Redick said of the third-year guard. “I think about a lot of young players that I’ve been around, especially towards the second half of my career and I tell people this all the time: You go into training camp, you go into preseason, you meet a rookie, you meet a second-year guy that’s coming in, looking for his place in the league. It’s very easy to figure out after two or three days what this person’s future looks like. Quentin has a very bright future in the NBA.”

Grimes shot well in the season-opener but has missed 18 of his last 26 shots over the past four games. Just like Randle and Brunson, I think it’s way too early to make any broad statements about Grimes. Redick was one of the best shooters of his generation. So his thoughts on Grimes carry significant weight.

“I really enjoyed spending time with Quentin. Asked the right questions, wants to get better. All the good stuff you look for in a young player,” Redick said. “And obviously he’s got a lot of talent and a great physical makeup. And truthfully, a great mental makeup.”

Redick is looking forward to calling the NBA In-season tournament games. He sees the tournament as a potential facsimile of games late in the regular season when several teams are battling for a playoff spot or a spot in the play-in tournament.

He also cited the play-in tournament as a reason to believe the in-season tournament can work well.

“I just don’t get the skepticism,” Redick said.

The tournament starts on Friday with group play. Each team will play four games in this initial stage against their group. The Knicks are in a group with Charlotte, Miami, Washington and Milwaukee.

Eight teams advance to the quarterfinals. The semifinals and championship game will be played in Las Vegas. The higher seed will host quarterfinal games.

Aside from the championship game, all in-season tournament games will count as regular season contests.

The players on the winning team will each get $500,000, while the runners-up will get $200,000. The losing players of the semifinals will each get $100,000, and the losing players of the quarterfinals will each get $50,000.

Money is a solid incentive for teams to care about the in-season tournament. Redick believes players don’t need a reason to care about the games since they count toward regular season records.

“You don’t need to give Chris Paul a reason to be competitive. He wakes up that way,” Redick said. “The NBA weeds out the non-competitive people very quickly. And I think this is another opportunity for the competitive people to rise to the top.”

TERRANCE ‘MUNCH’ WILLIAMS WRITES INSPIRING BOOK

Terrance ‘Munch’ Williams is the executive director of Pro Scholar Athletes, one of the most successful AAU programs in the country. Dozens of Division 1 players have come through PSA. Several NBA players as well.

Williams’ status in amateur basketball is well-established.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020, Williams was looking to expand beyond the basketball court. He did so by authoring a book offering his life experiences as a blueprint for African-American males on their journey toward emotional, physical, and intellectual health.

The book, titled Our P.S.A., was a labor of love for Williams. It’s formatted in short sections and covers over 100 topics, which cover a wide range of issues.

It’s also been well-received by the basketball community – and beyond.

Williams has seen the book in boarding schools, homeless shelters and places of worship.

Now when people see him in the gym, they want to talk to him about much more than basketball.

“People come up to me now when I’m in gyms and they’re like, ‘Hey entry No. 22, that happened to my uncle.’ And we’re having real conversations about something outside of basketball in the gymnasium. (The book is) sparking heavy conversations as opposed to just how good this kid on the basketball court is with the one dribble pull up. We’re talking about, ‘Is it OK to cry in marriage?’”

That’s one of dozens of topics covered in the book, which reads as journal entries from Williams.

Williams hopes that by writing the book, he’s providing a living example of something that he sees as crucial for young athletes.

“(I wanted to) be able to present something that the student athletes that I’m charged with trying to help navigate this world, to show them that you could step away from basketball, still be elite at the game, still love the game but also give your time to other things and become more versatile,” Williams says. “... I wanted it to be an example of, practice what you preach, and showcase that for those guys to feel like, Hey, I’m able to step outside the box and do photography or poetry or singing or whatever they feel like they want to add to your tool box.”

Players from all over the country have posted on social media about Williams’ lessons. They seem to resonate with his audience. And they’ve shown a different side of Williams.

“People know me through grassroots and basketball and education. I think this is another component of who I am as a person, what I stand for. Just trying to make the people around me proud.”