Film Findings Ep. 08: How Julius Randle Turned His Season Around
It's all about the paint, no triples
Through the first few weeks of this, season Julius Randle was arguably the single-worst player in the NBA. During New York’s first six games, Randle shot 26 of 96 (27.1%) from the field and 9 of 40 from three (22.5%), averaging just 13.7 points while taking 16 shots and 6.7 threes a night. But since then, Randle has been back to his old self: He's averaging 25.5 points. 9.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game, shooting 51% from the floor and 34.9% from deep.
So, what's changed? Let's dig into the film.
As a knicks fan its been a weird season for Randle. I really like the shooting angle analysis. I think something that he's improved in order to get better angle on his shots is his footwork, which was a total mess at the beginning of the season. He's getting older and a little slower, and that has affected his timing and decision tree for his drives. I think you're absolutely right that favoring pick and roll over isos has helped lessen that physical load and fits his pacing better. Randle has always relied on a rhythm and dictating the tempo on the offensive side, and this shift has worked better for him.
I wonder if the arc and outside shooting in general were affected early on by his coming back from surgery and not having his legs under him. He generally works on conditioning pretty hard in the summer and this year he couldn't do that as much.