Randle's Revival?
Last season, Thibodeau called Randle the team's "engine." This season the engine has been misfiring. It has overheated on more than a few occasions due to excess combustion pressure.
After posting career-highs across the board last season, en route to being named to the All-NBA Second-Team and winning the league's Most Improved Player award, most pundits predicted Julius Randle's numbers would regress toward the mean in 2021-22.
And, after starting the season on fire (averaging 29/11/6 over New York's first three contests), his production started declining. Yet, despite some troubling inconsistency in November, he mixed in some peaks (31 points and ten boards in a win over the Sixers) with the valleys (scoring fewer than ten points in back-to-back games after Thanksgiving).
However, in late December, the wheels suddenly fell off. Over a 15-game stretch, beginning with the Knicks' first contest after Christmas, Randle inexplicably sunk into a funk. From Dec. 28th through Jan. 28th, Randle averaged 15.4 points while shooting just 37% from the floor and 23% from downtown. It was the least efficient 15-game stretch of his entire career.
During that span, he was the only player in the league to attempt more than 15 shots a night while shooting below 38% from the field and below 25% from behind the arc. He also averaged 3.4 turnovers per game and was one of just two players to commit more than 50 TO's and dish out fewer than 75 assists. The Knicks were outscored by 61 points while he was on the court.
After he led the team in scoring in NY's Christmas Day victory over the Hawks, someone other than Randle was the Knicks game-high scorer in each of the next 20 consecutive contests. That would have been considered impossible just a few months ago. The Knicks never went more than two games in a row with someone else leading the team in points all of last season.
As I've talked about at length in this space, it wasn't merely that Randle was missing shots he usually makes. It was his uninspiring effort and lack of defensive intensity that infuriated the fanbase.
During this downturn, Randle chose to spar with fans inside Madison Square Garden, which served only to fans the flames of animosity. In a win over the Celtics in early January, he made a thumbs-down gesture toward the crown inside MSG. When asked what it was for after the game, Randle said, "To shut the f–k up."
Last Wednesday, in the team's final home game before taking off on a road trip, Randle shot 7-of-18 from the floor in a loss to the Grizzlies.
Rumors surfaced that the Knicks were considering trading their starting power forward prior to the Feb. 10 deadline, which led to a terse, yet humorous exchange between Randle and NY Post reporter Mark Berman before a game against the Lakers last Saturday.
However, since landing in Los Angeles last weekend, Randle has performed like the player we saw last season. Over the first four games of the Knicks West Coast swing, Randle is averaging a whopping 29.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.0 steals, while shooting over 48% from the floor, 35% from behind the arc and 71% from the charity stripe.
It's the first time in his entire career, including his breakout 2020-21 campaign, in which Randle has tallied at least 28 points, six rebounds and five assists in four consecutive contests. Before this current stretch, he'd never had more than two such games in a row.
And although the counting stats are nice, they are a byproduct of the noticeably increased intensity he's brought onto the floor of late.
Speaking with Mike Breen on the MSG broadcast after the win over the Lakers, Randle said “playing at a faster pace and continuous energy,” was essential to the Knicks’ victory. “Just energy and pace. From there, I just make the read. Make it with confidence and just be quick in everything that I’m doing.”
The NBA uses player-tracking technology to collect all kinds of interesting data, including a player's distance traveled and average speed while he's on the court. The NBA's proprietary software identifies and locates every player and the ball 25 times per second.
According to this data, over the 13 games he played in January, Randle traveled at an average rate of 3.87 miles per hour, including 4.21 MPH on offense. That was, by far, the lowest average speed among all Knicks.
It's been a different story this month, with Randle averaging 4.00 miles per hour and 4.55 MPH on the offensive end over New York's last five games.
Randle traveled an average distance of 2.39 miles per game in January. That number jumped to 2.67 miles per game in February, second on the team behind only RJ Barrett.
Yes, Knicks fans, the tracking data matches what your eyes are telling you.
On the season, the Knicks rank dead last in pace, at just 95.96 possessions per game. During their current road trip, New York is up over 99 possessions per contest (which ranks 13th in the NBA during this stretch). Randle immediately pushing the ball up the floor off defensive rebounds has created plenty of good looks for himself and his teammates in transition.
While Knicks fans are obviously happy to see Randle performing at the elite level they know he is capable of; many can't help but wonder: "Where was this version of Randle for the previous six weeks?!?"
They know the talent and skill are there. They watched it on full display over the entirety of the 2020-21 season.
In Thursday's much-needed win over the Warriors, Randle poured in a team-high 28 points, ripped down a game-high 16 rebounds, and dished out a team-high seven dimes. It was Randle's 500th career game. According to Basketball-Reference, he is one of only two players in NBA history (along with Nikola Jokic) to tally at least 8,000 points, 4,500 rebounds, 1,500 assists and 300 made three-pointers through his first 500 contests.
It's the fact that Randle has shown he can play at an All-NBA level when he puts forth the requisite effort that makes it so frustrating to see him fall short in the effort department.
Last season, head coach Tom Thibodeau called Randle the team's driving force. "He's our engine," Thibodeau said after a win in January of 2021. "He plays with a lot of toughness, and there's a lot of multiple-effort plays that he's making, but he's also playing very unselfishly." Thibs continued: "And then defensively, the rebounding, multiple effort, we're asking him to play backup center right now also, so he's doing everything. Playing big minutes, comes in the next day and works, takes care of his body, great with recovery, great in the film sessions, and it's the type of leadership that's invaluable to a team."
This season, Randle has failed to provide the dynamism and leadership that led to a career year (and a $120 million contract) for him personally and home-court advantage in the playoffs for his team.
The Knicks engine has been misfiring for the last couple of months. We've watched as it overheated on more than a few occasions due to excess combustion pressure.
However, it seems to be running far more smoothly out on the West Coast. Maybe it received a necessary tune-up in California? Perhaps it needed some time away from NYC to cool down?
Whatever the reason, the Knicks need Julius Randle firing on all cylinders if they have any hope of getting back on track and turning their season around.