While they made one of the biggest trades of the summer with the arrival of Mikal Bridges, the Knicks also come out weakened under the boards since Isaiah Hartenstein left for the Thunder, and he was not replaced. To compensate for his departure, Tom Thibodeau already has an idea in mind: to use Julius Randle more at position 5.
“We already experienced it last season” he assures. “At the beginning of the season, Mitchell was the starter and he had a great start. When he got hurt, Jericho Sims started, and then he got hurt. Then Isaiah came in and did what he did. But when he got hurt, Precious [Achiuwa] came in, and Taj Gibson. So we've rotated guys at that position throughout the year. We'll probably have to do it collegially. I don't want to do it for long periods of time, that would be damaging, but I think Julius can do it for 10 or 15 minutes, and I think he can do it well. He would also create a lot of advantage situations on offense.”
A strong point: playing with your back to the basket
Physically, Randle can hold his own against centers, and technically, his left foot and ability to move away from the rim are assets.
“It's one of his strong points” continues the Knicks coach about Randle's back-to-the-basket play. “He’s evolved a lot more than people think. He’s added the 3-point shot, he can dribble, he can play with his back to the basket, he can play facing the rim and come off screens. He can run the court – I always tell him, ‘You’re best in transition, when you’re going to the finish.’ When he plays that way, you can’t stop him. It’s speed, it’s strength, it’s all of that. He gets two guys on the ball, and he has to rely on the pass in those moments.”
A valuable quality of passes
Having injured his shoulder in January and then had surgery after a relapse, is Randle ready for this challenge? “I think Julius always adapted to the challenges he faced each year” concludes Thibodeau. “People forget the level he played at. Four years ago, he had a monster season and we didn’t have the level of play we have today. We got a glimpse of it in January, his last month of basketball. People forget he was averaging 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists a game. He had a lot of success and was a big part of winning the last four years in New York. The better players you have, the more sacrifices you have to make. Not just for Julius, but for everyone.”
| Julius Randle | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2014-15 | LAL | 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 | LAL | 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 | LAL | 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 | LAL | 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 |
| 2022-23 | NYK | 77 | 36 | 45.9 | 34.3 | 75.7 | 1.8 | 8.1 | 10.0 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 25.1 |
| 2023-24 | NYK | 46 | 35 | 47.2 | 31.1 | 78.1 | 2.2 | 7.0 | 9.2 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 24.0 |
| Total | 641 | 32 | 47.0 | 33.3 | 74.8 | 2.0 | 7.4 | 9.4 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 19.1 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
