New York Knicks: 3 goals for their playoff run

New York Knicks NBA playoff goals No. 2: Continue to support Julius Randle.

As mentioned earlier, the Knicks have ridden the back of Randle. The problem for the Knicks is he is unproven in playoff basketball. He has now logged a total of 36 minutes of postseason action in his six seasons in the NBA, all in game one of this series.

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While his production is going to be crucial for the Knicks to advance, it is the production of those around him that is going to determine just how far they can get. Their midseason trade for Derrick Rose is certainly going to help this, he has a history of making big buckets at critical moments.

The Knicks also took a gamble when they signed Alec Burks to a single-season deal.  He is one of the bench players with the ability to explode offensively. He showed this with 27 points in game one but the question is, can he contribute at this level for a full series.

RJ Barrett looked good in game one with a double-double but he has played four fewer playoff minutes than Randle. Nerlens Noel, Taj Gibson, Reggie Bullock, and even Elfrid Payton all need to step up their game if the Knicks are going to have any hope of moving forward to the second round.