The defeat at the hands of the young Oklahoma City Thunder at Madison Square Garden surely left a mark. So much, indeed, that veteran forward Julius Randle stepped up and deemed it necessary to organize a players-only dinner “trying to hold each other accountable,” as RJ Barrett put it on Tuesday.
This was no secret meeting leaked by anyone, to anyone. It was a publicized night reunion after a “ridiculous” performance against the Thunder in which New York surrendered a barely believable 145 points. It was a dinner among teammates from which head coach Tom Thibodeau was wholly excluded—as were all other members of the Knicks staff without playing rights.