BBNBA: Julius Randle's Knicks best Jarred Vanderbilt's Jazz
On Sunday night, the New York Knicks lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder by 10 points. On the surface, this doesn’t sound awful, but the Thunder scored 145 points in the win. The loss dropped New York to a 6-7 record early in the year. A players-only dinner for the Knicks followed.
“It was good, good to have a team dinner like that,” former Duke Blue Devil R.J Barrett said, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “Try to figure this out the best that we can. We all care, trying to get this going on the right track.”
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Julius Randle has been a completely different animal. While he’s only averaging 20 points, he’s been the vocal and physical leader that the Knicks needed. This was evident on Tuesday night in a 118-111 win over the 10-6 Utah Jazz. Randle finished the game with 15 points, five rebounds, and an assist. The win itself was much-needed and a big statement, but it was the defense that was encouraging.
Another former Wildcat, Immanuel Quickley had 13 points, coming alive in the fourth quarter. However, many Knicks fans were very upset with head coach Tom Thibodeau as he took out Quickley for the rest of the fourth after he hit back-to-back threes.
On the other end of the floor, the surprising star for the Jazz this year has been former Wildcat Jarred Vanderbilt. He has been a Draymond Green-like piece for the team and has been on fire this year. Vanderbilt even starts for the Jazz and is averaging 8.1 points with 8.3 rebounds per game. Unfortunately for Utah fans, he was only able to score two points while only taking a single shot on Tuesday, but he was able to haul in nine rebounds.
Keldon Johnson and Shadeon Sharpe battle in Portland
One of the biggest surprises in the NBA this year has been the resurgence of the Portland Trail Blazers. They finished last year with a record of 27-55. This allowed them to pick former (well, sorta) Kentucky Wildcat Shadeon Sharpe with the seventh overall selection in the 2022 NBA Draft.
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The Trail Blazers have started this year with a 10-4 record, which has them at first in the Western Conference. Sharpe has shown flashes of his talent throughout the year, but Tuesday night was one of his best. He finished the game with 13 points on 5-7 shooting. The talent is very evident when watching him play, as he’s just more athletic than most people with his skill set.
Visiting Portland were the San Antonio Spurs, which haven’t been good of late after a decent start. It seems as though the San Antonio front office is all-in on a rebuild. The cornerstone of this rebuild right now is undoubtedly Keldon Johnson.
On Tuesday night, Johnson put up an easy 20 points with five rebounds and five assists against the Blazers. However, it wasn’t enough for the Spurs to get back in the win column. The future is looking up in Texas though as Johnson has started to submit himself as one of the best forwards in the Western Conference. At the age of 23, he has a long way to develop to reach his true potential.
Other BBNBA Notes
- John Wall is beginning to find his rhythm on an LA Clippers team that desperately needs it. Wall was able to score 17 points in a losing effort to the Dallas Mavericks. Clipper nation will be hoping that Wall can lead the team with Kawhi Leonard still out.
- The Sacramento Kings are…… FOR REAL???? The De’Aaron Fox-led Kings punched the Brooklyn Nets in the mouth, winning 153-121. The Nets are surrounded by controversy, and the Kings took full advantage of that for the win. Fox and Malik Monk combined for 29 points as the duo is lighting up the Western Conference like it’s 2017 in Lexington again.
11/15/2022 Stats
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | MIN | +/- |
| Keldon Johnson (SAS) | 110-117 L vs. POR | 20 | 6-14 (4-9) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 34 | -7 |
| John Wall (LAC) | 101-103 L vs. DAL | 17 | 6-11 (1-3) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 26 | +11 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 118-111 W vs. UTA | 15 | 5-11 (2-6) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 31 | -12 |
| Malik Monk (SAC) | 153-121 W vs. BKN | 15 | 5-15 (3-9) | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | -5 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 118-111 W vs. UTA | 14 | 6-13 (0-3) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | -2 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 153-121 W vs. BKN | 14 | 5-12 (1-5) | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 24 | +11 |
| Shadeon Sharpe (POR) | 117-110 W vs. SAS | 13 | 5-7 (2-3) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Trey Lyles (SAC) | 153-121 W vs. BKN | 12 | 4-13 (3-8) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | -3 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (UTA) | 122-106 W vs. HOU | 2 | 1-1 (0-0) | 9 | 1 | 1 | -4 | 1 | 24 | -4 |
| B.J. Boston (LAC) | 101-103 L vs. DAL | DNP-CD | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Olivier Sarr (POR) | 117-110 W vs. SAS | DNP- Wrist | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Tonight in the NBA
7:00: Pacers (Jackson) @ Hornets (Richards, PJ Washington)
7:00: Timberwolves (Towns) @ Magic
7:00: Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander) @ Wizards
7:30: (ESPN) Celtics @ Hawks
7:30: Heat (Adebayo, Herro) @ Raptors
8:00: Cavaliers @ Bucks
8:00: Bulls @ Pelicans
8:30: Rockets (TyTy Washington) @ Mavericks
10:00 Knicks (Quickley, Randle) @ Nuggets (Murray)
10:00: (ESPN) Warriors @ Suns (Booker)
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