There isn’t a player in the NBA that got off to as slow of a start as New York Knicks power forward Julius Randle. He was setting records with his lack of efficiency as he was struggling to put the ball in the basket.
Offseason ankle surgery was a contributing factor to his struggles as Randle spent most of the NBA offseason rehabbing not getting into shape or rhythm for the season. As a result, the production early on was not at the level people have become accustomed to seeing Randle play at.
It took Randle until the ninth game of the season to shoot over 50 percent for the first time. He had some ugly shooting performances but was still productive, putting up impressive rebounding and assist numbers to make up for it.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Julius Randle & New York Knicks Updates
Through October, Randle had an ugly shooting split of .295/.320/.640. However, as the season has wore on, his shooting numbers have been on the rise. In his last seven games, Randle has been playing like an All-Star and All-NBA caliber player he has shown in the past.
Over his last seven games, Randle is averaging 28.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game as he is stuffing the stat sheet. He has been very efficient, making 57.5 percent of his shots overall, 41.4 percent from 3-point range and 81.3 from the charity stripe.
Over those seven games, the Knicks have gone 4-3. They go as Randle does, which is partly why people believe they need to make a move for another star player to push Randle into the No. 2 role.
In December, Randle has been on fire. He is averaging 28.8 points with 7.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He has been on fire shooting the ball, with a .614/.538/.846 shooting split against the Raptors twice and road games with the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Julius Randle & New York Knicks Updates
When Randle is on, as he has been the last few weeks, the Knicks are a very difficult team to slow down. Jalen Brunson has shown he can be a successful closer and RJ Barrett is coming into his own as the No. 3 option.
The energy and emotion that Randle exhibited in Monday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors is the kind of thing his teammates can feed off of and play well. Already a team opponents don’t like seeing on their schedule, if Randle can channel that positive energy more consistently, the Knicks will be an even more dangerous team.
New York is going to need more of that as they embark on a five-game road trip with the first four games on the West Coast. After that, they host the Milwaukee Bucks for two games before beginning another road trip.
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