Getty Julius Randle, Knicks
We know the many problems the Knicks have had here in the early NBA season, whether it is the play of their free-agent signings, the seeming incompatibility of their starting five, the coach’s stubbornness (until now, at least) when it comes to tinkering with rotations—the Knicks have issues, and they’ve become obvious.
But already, we have seen some improvement on several fronts with the Knicks, and Saturday’s defensive stifling of Atlanta could be their best win of the season. Even in that, though, one problem remains troubling and in the end, it is likely the one that will determine whether this team can turn things around and keep them turned around: Julius Randle.
According to an Eastern Conference scout who watched Randle last week, there may be no easy answer on the big guy.
“A lot of what you see is him not really taking different shots or anything,” the scout said. “He gets a lot of shots at the rim and he is fine on those. But his deep midrange game, his 3-pointers, that is all stuff that is a problem for him. They keep saying he is getting more defensive attention this year, but he isn’t. He got the same amount of (defensive) contests last year.
“It is just a correction, that is what would scare me if I were the Knicks. He shot way above his station last year. He is not doing that this year. He was never a 40% 3-point guy so I think he had some luck last year and now the luck is swinging the other way. That is not good, it’s bad news for them.”
Randle’s Season-Long Slump is Getting Worse
Randle’s numbers on the year are disappointing—19.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists, but on only 41.2% shooting and 33.0% 3-point shooting. That is well off last year’s star turn from Randle, when he averaged 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists, making 45.6% of his shots and 41.1% of his 3s.
Worse, it does not appear as though Randle is getting better. He had a season-low eight points against the Hawks, after notching just nine the previous night, and was 3-for-14 shooting in the game. In the Knicks’ last nine games, Randle has averaged 15.3 points on 38.0% shooting and 28.3% 3-point shooting.
The question is whether enough of the rest of the Knicks can make shots and take some pressure off Randle—allow him to get more uncontested looks and rediscover his perimeter game. That has not happened yet, but with the Knicks moving struggling Kemba Walker out of the rotation and seeing some slumps broken by Evan Fournier and R.J. Barrett, maybe some more space will open for Randle.
Thibodeau Wants Randle to ‘Trust the Pass’
As it stands, coach Tom Thibodeau attempted to put the best possible face on Randle’s struggles, pointing out that he has still done a good job moving the ball and would have had more assists had more shots gone down.
“When you’re that type of player, you’re going to command that type of attention,” Thibodeau said. “And I thought he made a lot of good plays for us. If a team overloads on you, you have to understand there’s an advantage on the weak side. So we gotta trust the pass. I thought he made a number of really good plays and we missed some shots that were some really good looks. When you play like that, everyone gets into rhythm, it’s the right way to play.”