Julius Randle and the New York Knicks are ready to take on the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. Randle made the All-Star leap this season with the Knicks, helping the team earn a surprising 41 wins and the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Ahead of Sunday night's Game 1, Randle had a stern warning for the Hawks. This comes after he absolutely pulverized Atlanta during the regular season.
Via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News:
“If they put two or three on the ball, whatever it is, I’m going to make the pass,” Randle said just hours before his first postseason game. “Guys are going to knock down shots. And if they don’t [double-team me], good luck.”
Randle averaged a whopping 37.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists in three games against the Hawks in the regular season. The Knicks won all three of those games.
What makes Randle so dangerous is he can beat a defense in a variety of ways. He has always been able to score inside, but this season he also developed into a knockdown 3-point shooter (41.1%). His playmaking also came along in a big way, as he handed out a career-high 6.0 assists per game.
The Hawks will surely try to swarm Randle and make other Knicks beat them. We'll see how RJ Barrett does in his first-ever playoff experience. Derrick Rose will also be counted on to provide a big scoring punch off the bench.
This is New York's first trip to the postseason since 2013. Randle and the Knicks are confident after their incredible regular season.
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