New York Knicks: How Julius Randle can improve his efficiency

How should New York Knicks star Julius Randle be getting quality looks?

A logical explanation for the increased amount of pump fakes is that he is trying to create more room to get a quality shot as defenders stay closer to Randle due to his breakout season. Unfortunately, that has not worked so well, as he is averaging eight contested shots per game.

Randle would be better off taking more field goals from inside the arc and removing the pump fake habit from his shot. For example, Nerlens Noel had the basketball on the left wing early in the first quarter of a home game against the Hawks last season.

Noel passed the ball to Randle, who had his back to the basket above the elbow. Randle decided to face up and perform a jab step before going up in one fluid motion and making a mid-range jumper over John Collins.

(Skip to 0:28 to see the play.)

This offensive set played a vital role in Randle shooting 56.2 percent inside the arc on 12.1 attempts per game over the first nine appearances of last season. Randle’s success from inside the arc wasn’t a fluke either, as he shot over 50 percent on 11.6 attempts per game from 2015-16 to 2020-21.

More importantly, Randle’s shooting technique helped limit his pull-up jumpers, averaging 4.6 per game. These two factors positively affected his field goal percentage, as he shot 49 percent from the field over the first nine games of last season on 16.8 shots per game.

He was able to average 22.6 points per game during this span. In conclusion, If Randle can address these offensive issues, his efficiency should improve.