I think the problem, Bo - is that you do not watch enough of the games.
Nobody who has half a brain and watches full contests would say that Julius has slipped
But your stats says so. ding ding - a real winner.
I've seen most Knick games this year, and probably 18 of the last 20. Maybe 19. Got a good replay site online. It also allows you to replay possessions and pinpoint mistakes. (like the other day I blamed Franc for giving Randle the ball in the backcourt twice before the half, and then looked again and saw they were Quickly's faux pas).
I cited no stats; looked up no stats.
Just watch the games, Dr. Julius's assists are down and turnovers up. Last 10 games or so Clyde has taken to saying that turnovers are Randle's nemesis. Weren't hearing that earlier in the year. Didn't see passes to no one back then. Earlier in the year, Randle's turnovers seemed to mostly come 4Q when the guy was often exhausted.
While Randle has made a lot more defensive mistakes the past dozen games. His stellar scoring has hid this slippage from some. Looks to me like Randle is a little mentally and physically fatigued and hasn't been able to keep things at a very high level across the board. Probably also some regression, as old habits are hard yo overcome.
And Bullock and Burks are giving you exactly what you say we do not have. OK< so they don't defend like Covington. I give you that. But this year RC is not shooting it like our guys, is he?
Again, Bullox is more a 3&D player at the backup level on a good playoff team, or at the best the weakest link. RegBull has been a good defender this year. And his 1Q shooting/scoring has been nice. But he often goes passive/disappears the 2nd half.
Burks is a subpar defender and 35% 3-pointer for the past 2 months.
Agree they've done an adequate job. Can help you finish close to .500