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New York Knicks: How Julius Randle can improve his efficiency

By Zamir Bueno

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 20: Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks reacts during the first half against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2021 in New York City. 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. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 20: Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks reacts during the first half against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2021 in New York City. 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. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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New York Knicks
Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks stands on the court during the first quarter of an NBA game against the New Orleans Pelicans (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

There are some questions around the league about whether or not forward Julius Randle will be a true number one option for the New York Knicks moving forward.

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report stated on November 4th that the decrease in efficiency and a strong supporting cast should make the team rethink having Randle as the number one option both right now and in the future.

Why New York Knicks star Julius Randle has seen a dip in efficiency to start the 2021-22 NBA season

Randle’s inefficiency is likely related to both him and the team shining a spotlight on his weaknesses. He has spent a substantial portion of his minutes off the ball. For example, he stood behind the arc on the ring wing early in the first quarter of a road game vs. Pelicans.

He stayed there as Kemba Walker initiated a pick and roll with Mitchell Robinson. When Walker went over the screen, he couldn’t attack the basket as Nickeil Alexander-Walker was on the other side of the screen.

The presence of Alexander-Walker led Walker to pass the ball to Evan Fournier to continue the possession. Fournier then passed the ball to Randle, who made a three-pointer to end the possession.

(Skip to 0:09 to see the play.)

Offensive sets like this one have contributed to him spending 22.2 percent of his possessions as a spot-up shooter, averaging five per game. Unfortunately, he didn’t excel in that role from 2015-16 to 2020-21, shooting less than 40 percent on 2.5 attempts per game.

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