Julius Randle’s rebound ‘went through the roof’ even as Knicks struggle
Don’t blame Julius Randle for one of the Knicks’ recent rebounding issues. He’s been a freak on the glass lately.
This month, he’s averaging 14.5 rebounds per game, and he’s been at 13.2 since Dec. 7, over a 25-game span.
His 10.9 season average is a career high and is the ninth highest in the NBA this year.
“His rebound exploded,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Obviously we need him to keep doing that. The last 20 games or so [have been] really, really strong.
Randle knocked down 13 boards Tuesday in the win over the Cavaliers. In the last 25 games, he has recorded 21 double-digit rebounds and had at least 15 on 10 occasions.
Jalen Brunson is excited about the Knicks’ road trip in early February, but not because there are venues he wants to see in Orlando and Philadelphia. During that trip, he will see his No. 1 jersey retired by Villanova at halftime of their Feb. 8 match against DePaul.
“It’s really a great honor,” said Brunson, who won two national championships at Villanova. “I didn’t go to Villanova thinking my jersey would be retired. I just went there to be part of something special and try to help another team win. The fact that I have this opportunity is really special.
“It means a lot to my family, it means a lot to the teammates I had. Without them it wouldn’t be possible. It’s a credit to all the teammates I had.
There’s an outside shot that LeBron James will surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history when the Lakers visit the Garden next Tuesday, but it would take an incredible scoring spree to get there. to arrive.
He would need to average 44.5 points over the next four games to set the record at MSG. He is currently 178 points short of Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387. James is averaging 35 points per game this month and is coming off a 46-point effort in a loss to the Clippers on Tuesday night.
The Knicks went on hiatus Tuesday night, according to the NBA. In the league’s final two-minute report, a foul should have been called on Isaiah Hartenstein on driving Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell to the rim in the final seconds. The Knicks won by two. The NBA also ruled officials missed a foul on RJ Barrett against Mitchell with less than a minute left.
The Celtics will be without goaltender Marcus Smart (ankle) on Thursday. Evan Fournier (staff) will remain out for the Knicks.