Well, this much we can say with a fair amount of confidence:
It isn’t all No. 30’s fault.
The wreckage of this 2021-22 Knicks season can’t be draped exclusively around Julius Randle’s shoulders, and it can’t be dumped entirely at his feet. Logically, you would think most Knicks fans understood, and understand, that. But when you’ve clinched a losing season 10 days before April Fool’s Day, logic doesn’t play much into the equation.
When a 10-point fourth-quarter lead dissolves under the reality — make it the inevitability — of a 22-6 run, and when the Hawks nudge themselves to .500 with a 117-111 victory, reason isn’t the first emotion of choice.
Randle didn’t play Tuesday night. There were large swatches of the game where it didn’t seem the Knicks missed him. But there were larger patches, and the essential ones, where the Knicks looked exactly as they have all year with him or without…