30th then 29th. Since Tom Thibodeau took charge in New York, it’s been the Knicks’ place in terms of pace over the past two seasons. The “Big Apple” team was playing very slowly (95.9 possessions per game) compared to the other teams, but this was perhaps mainly due to problems at the end.
With the arrival of Jalen Brunson, the pace should therefore accelerate, and Julius Randle explains that he lost weight with this in mind, in order to be able to follow the tempo.
“That’s how the game evolves”, explains the strong winger. “There are so many more possessions, games with a lot of points. So that’s just the way the league is going and an adjustment that everyone has to make. »
If the rhythm of the Knicks was so weak, it is also that the attack relied heavily on the isolations of Julius Randle. A higher tempo means fewer balls for the 2021 All-Star…
“I want to adapt and play faster, play with and without the ball”reassures the strong winger. “For me, being in good shape is always the most important thing. I take pride in it. Every year I try to look back and see how to adjust to be better, to play faster. And be efficient. »
“Because of the strength of the squad, we can use it in different ways. He (Julius Randle) doesn’t always need to have the ball. He can play without the ball. »
According to Tom Thibodeau, his player is quite capable of shining at a faster pace.
“Having trained against him, one of the things that worried me was when he came up the field fast. So if we can get him up against some smaller guys, before the defense is in place, that’s a big advantage for us. Play without the ball, receive it in motion and cut from the racquet head. These are things he has done well in the past that I want him to get back to.
We will still have to wait and see because the coach also announced at the start of the last campaign that he wanted to play much faster, before his team slowed down considerably as the season progressed, following the failure of the Kemba Walker experiment and the lack of a real leader.
So it’s all down to Jalen Brunson’s impact, but if the former Maverick is at the expected level, it will give Tom Thibodeau, and therefore Julius Randle, plenty of options.
“Because of the strength of the squad, we can use it in different ways”concludes the coach. “He (Julius Randle) doesn’t always need to have the ball. He can play without the ball. »
| Julius Randle | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2014-15 | ALL | 1 | 14 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| 2015-16 | ALL | 81 | 28 | 42.9 | 27.8 | 71.5 | 2.1 | 8.1 | 10.2 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 11.4 |
| 2016-17 | ALL | 74 | 29 | 48.8 | 27.0 | 72.3 | 2.0 | 6.6 | 8.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 13.2 |
| 2017-18 | ALL | 82 | 27 | 55.8 | 22.2 | 71.8 | 2.2 | 5.8 | 8.0 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 16.1 |
| 2018-19 | NOP | 73 | 31 | 52.4 | 34.4 | 73.1 | 2.2 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 21.4 |
| 2019-20 | NYK | 64 | 33 | 46.0 | 27.7 | 73.3 | 2.4 | 7.4 | 9.7 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 19.5 |
| 2020-21 | NYK | 71 | 38 | 45.6 | 41.1 | 81.1 | 1.2 | 9.0 | 10.2 | 6.0 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 24.1 |
| 2021-22 | NYK | 72 | 35 | 41.1 | 30.8 | 75.6 | 1.7 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 5.1 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 20.1 |
| Total | 518 | 31 | 47.2 | 33.2 | 74.3 | 2.0 | 7.3 | 9.3 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 17.7 | |
