The Return of Mid-Range Randle

Knicks secure a much-needed victory thanks to outstanding performances from their two most important players.

Game Recap: (Desperate) Knicks beat (shorthanded) Pacers, 104-94

On Monday, I wrote that in order for the Knicks to succeed this season, they'd need the 2020-21 version of Julius Randle to show up. Well, for one night at least, the Garden faithful got treated to a performance from Randle reminiscent of his All-NBA campaign. 

Randle racked 30 points (12-of-20 FGs), 16 rebounds, four assists, one steal, and two 3-pointers in Tuesday's win over Indiana. It's important to note the win came against a shorthanded Pacers team playing without three of their top-five starters, but as we've mentioned several times during this crazy season, a win is a win. Tuesday's victory snapped a two-game losing skid for New York and pushed them within two games of .500.

In Tuesday's triumph, Randle did much of his damage from the mid-range, knocking down four of the five jumpers he attempted between 16-24 feet of the basket. This is significant because it's an area of the floor where he enjoyed a great deal of success last season. 

Much has been made of Randle's regression from 3-point territory this year, but he's also been far less efficient in the mid-range. In 2020-21, Randle shot 41.5% (171-of-412) on such shots. This was crucial because he relied heavily on his mid-range game (he attempted a far greater percentage of his shots in the mid-range than any other area on the court). His ability to punish defenders in this location opened up driving lanes for himself and his teammates, as well as creating space for his 3-point attempts. 

However, Randle's accuracy plummeted over his first 35 games this season, as he converted just 29.2% of his mid-range attempts. 

After knocking down 44.6% on shots between 8 and 16 feet from the bucket last season, he made just 33.6 of such attempts to start the 2021-22 campaign. His offensive regression led to slumped shoulders and seemed to impact his defensive intensity.