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New Orleans Pelicans: 3 goals for Julius Randle in 2018-19

By Eric Spyropoulos

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JULY 13: General Manager Dell Demps and Julius Randle #30 of the New Orleans Pelicans pose for a photo during a press conference on July 13, 2018 at the the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JULY 13: General Manager Dell Demps and Julius Randle #30 of the New Orleans Pelicans pose for a photo during a press conference on July 13, 2018 at the the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images /

3. Start spacing the floor more

As mentioned earlier, Randle is a very limited shooter, thus preventing him from consistent playing time at the power forward position given how the league has quickly trended to big men that are capable shooters. If Randle is paired with a center that can shoot, his limited shooting doesn’t bog down an offense. The other solution is moving Randle to center, which allows teams to minimize his lack of floor-spacing and surround him with an additional shooter.

In New Orleans, Randle will likely always be paired with a big that can shoot from beyond the arc. Mirotic (37.7 percent) and Davis (34 percent) force defenses to guard them on the perimeter, thereby opening space in the paint for Randle to go to work (when he isn’t rumbling in transition).

However, if Randle wants to continue to evolve and adapt to the modern NBA, he should work on adding a capable jump shot to his game, especially from mid-range and corner 3-pointers.

With the corner 3 being the shortest 3-pointer, it makes the most sense for Randle to start there when it comes to spacing the floor. There’s a reason a notoriously limited shooter in Dewayne Dedmon started attempting corner 3-pointers, hitting a surprising 40 percent on such shots.

The only issue is that unlike Dedmon, Randle is a really poor mid-range shooter. Last season, the 23-year-old shot just 35.1 percent on shots within 10-16 feet of the rim and just 25.6 percent on shots from within 16 feet and the 3-point line. That doesn’t bode well for projecting any shooting improvements from Randle this season.

Regardless, you have to start somewhere and Randle may as well start taking more mid-rangers in order to gain comfort with his jump shot. Taking baby steps would be better than nothing, as it will likely be even more imperative that he develops a quality jump shot a couple of years from now given how the league has developed in recent seasons.

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