Julius Randle is finally coming around to have the season he was expected to have upon signing with the New York Knicks, recently turning a corner during Mike Miller's 11 games as an interim coach.
The stark change is noticeable, as are his 22.6 points on 47.9% from the floor, 36.4% from deep and only 2.1 turnovers per game, despite being the team's focal point. Randle credits his progress to a jolt in confidence.
“I’m just playing with confidence, man,” Randle told Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. “I put in way too much work, sacrificed way too much of my free time with my family, my friends, whatever it is to try to get better at my craft. Things gotta turn around eventually. I try to take things on a game-by-game focus, not really worried about the big picture of things when it comes to that.”
Randle has now overtaken Marcus Morris Sr. for the title of leading scorer for the Knicks. He's driving the ball with purpose and finishing, rather than settling for the finesse jumper. He's making use of his strengths, rather than bailing out defenses with something he's capable, but not adept to doing.
Those 11 games line up perfectly with the time Miller took the baton from a fired David Fizdale, looking to implement some of his concepts into a Knicks' offense devoid of identity.
“I’m reading it better, getting to spots better, recognizing how they’re playing and playing at a better pace,” said Randle. “Coach (Miller) is doing a great job of getting me in spots where I can be efficient. A lot of stuff I was doing earlier was just taking too long to get into and it was easy to double. Now I’m able to be a lot more efficient with what I do on the offensive end.”
Miller is prioritizing his cogs' strengths and yielding good fruits from it, rather than the revolving door of bodies subbed in and out of the lineup. That has resulted in a 5-6 record, a vast improvement over the 4-18 mark the Knicks saw under Fizdale.
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