Julius Randle looked better on the offensive end in Monday's game four, but defensively, there were still inexplicable mental lapses and poor displays of effort in a deflating loss in Miami.
For Gio, it was more evidence that the Knicks can't have Randle as their centerpiece for a winning team, and New York has to move on this offseason.
"In the fourth quarter, that big Caleb Martin dunk, Julius Randle closes out lazily, he lets Caleb Martin go right by him, they know exactly what they're doing. At that point, he was checked out, and the entire team was checked out," Gio said. "Then Julius Randle puts his arms up like it was somebody else's fault, like he was expecting Mitchell Robinson to help out, when you're just standing there like a traffic cone."
Randle is nursing a recently sprained ankle, but Gio doesn't want to hear that as an excuse. Randle consistently says publicly that if he is on the floor, he is physically good to go, so Gio doesn't want to hear anything about his health. It's about effort.
"If this team is going to take the next step, he can't be a part of it," Gio said. "I don't know how hurt he is, I don't even care. He is just not a guy who is capable of performing in these moments."
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