Knicks players are divided into two camps and engaged in a ‘civil war’, according to media personality and former NBA executive Amin Elhassan.
Speaking on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Elhassen broke down what he believes is happening in New York.
“Starting in the playoffs last year, I think the Knicks are a team that’s engaged in a ‘civil war’,” he said. “That war is between the guys that know how to play and the guys that don’t. And I think on one side, you got Brunson. You got the Villanova guys, basically. You got, I believe Grimes, I think Hartenstein is in there. And Mitchell Robinson, by virtue of just, he’s very limited in what he can and can’t do on the floor, so he’s not really asked to make any decisions.
“And then on the other hand, you’ve got Julius Randall, you’ve got RJ Barrett on some bad days. You’ve got Emmanuel Quickley. Guys are just playing emotional, impulse basketball. And you can get through a regular season on impulse basketball. You can’t get anywhere in the playoffs on impulse basketball. You have to be able to be discerning out there.”
Making matters worse for New York is Julius Randle’s monumental shooting struggles. Randle is dead last in the NBA in field goal shooting (27.1%) and three-point accuracy (22.5%).
Randle’s struggles have heavily contributed to the Knicks finding themselves second-last league-wide in offensive rating (103.9) and last in points per game (103.3).
New York does at least have the third-best defensive rating (103.7) in the NBA, and with only six games played so far, there’s more than enough time to sort things out on offense.
READ MORE: NBA Fans React to Heat’s Cringey New On-Court Statement
