The Knicks had a feel-good win over the Celtics last night.
But Julius Randle didn’t feel good about New York fans booing their home team when it trailed by 25 in the second quarter.
So, Randle – following the lead of New York Mets players last summer – gave a thumbs down to the crowd after a bucket in the fourth quarter once the game had become competitive.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN:When asked after the game what message he was trying to get across to the fans, Randle didn’t mince his words.
“Shut the f--- up,” he said.
In response to a follow-up question about whether this was because of the boos the Knicks heard throughout the first two-plus quarters of Thursday’s win, when the Celtics thoroughly outplayed them, Randle said, “You saw that. You saw what was going on out there.”
After breaking through last regular season, Randle struggled in the playoffs, signed a big contract extension and has continued to disappoint this season. With Randle supposed to be their top player, the Knicks are just 19-20 and 10th in the East. Many Knicks fans are eager for his exciting backup, Obi Toppin, to get a bigger role.
So, the relationship between New York fans and Randle was strained even before this.
The Mets’ negativity toward their own fans didn’t go over well. Randle’s almost certainly won’t, either.
