Julius Randle’s monster game on Saturday was not enough to win the respect of one opponent.
The New York Knicks star Randle blew up for 39 points on 13-of-23 shooting against the Washington Wizards. He was only two points off his season high of 41 as the Knicks coasted to a convincing 121-105 victory over the Wizards.
After the game, Wizards forward Deni Avdija was asked by reporters about Randle’s big outing and decided to respond wth some shade.
“For me, he’s not that tough to guard,” said Avdija of Randle. “He’s aggressive, he picks his spots, and he’s trying to score, honestly. Big guy, going in the lane, getting fouls, that’s about it.”
That is a pretty strange shot to take at a player who just dropped a near-40 burger on your head. Randle also went for 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting in a 21-point win over the Wizards in November, so he seems especially tough for them to guard (especially since Washington has a fairly undersized frontcourt).
True, Randle usually relies more on brute force and fallaway jumpers than on a deep bag of moves. But as a two-time All-NBA selection averaging 24.3 points per game overall this season (and one who was already punking the Wizards last season), you would think that Randle has earned more respect than that from Avdija and his teammates.
