Consider this, if you will. Maybe last season Julius Randle used bad behavior as an appeal to our emotions because he wanted us to acknowledge his emotions.
Julius tried everything to get our attention. He initiated a potentially violent scene with Rudy Gobert when the Jazz visited New York in March. He exposed his wounded inner child by pouting after a victory against Chicago later that month. His thumbs-down gesture at home court fans will be remembered as a legendary Knicks moment, not far behind Willis Reed returning from the locker room, Starks’s dunk, and Larry Johnson’s four-point play.