Knicks' Julius Randle makes getting to rim his mission
Julius Randle of the Knicks drives to the hoop during the third quarter against P.J. Washington of the Charlotte Hornets at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Julius Randle and the Knicks have talked about the forward working his way into form, and Sunday seemed to be the first time that he looked like the player who has been a two-time All-NBA selection.
Randle had 23 points, five assists and five rebounds, but the biggest change from the first eight games was that he wasn’t relying on three-point shooting, instead getting to the rim with the aggressiveness that is hard for defenders to contend with.
“Yeah, I’m trying to get downhill and play at the rim more,” Randle said. “When I look at my numbers last season, obviously, I scratch out the beginning of this season. When I look at my numbers when I get rim attempts, I’m above league average and I play efficient basketball that way. My whole thing, I said from the beginning of the year, is I want to play more efficient basketball.
“There will be a time to get to the midrange, a time to have high-volume threes or whatever it is. But it’s a concerted effort to get downhill, for sure.”
Steady among the chaos
The Hornets have stayed afloat this season despite an onslaught of off-court issues and injuries, a credit to coach Steve Clifford. Miles Bridges was out all last season and has been serving a 10-game suspension to start this season. Kai Jones was waived after a series of troubling social media posts. And space constraints forbid us from listing all of the injuries the Hornets have endured.
“Yeah, he’s steady,” Tom Thibodeau said of Clifford. “And he’s been around, so he’s handled the ups and downs of the league. Sometimes you’re going to go through things — whether it’s injuries or off court, whatever, that’s all part of this. And just to keep moving forward, and that’s what he’s done.”
Bridges back this week
It’s puzzling that Bridges’ time away could be coming to an end with legal issues still ongoing after his domestic abuse charges, but he is eligible to return to the lineup Friday and Clifford sounded as if he will be put right into action.
“I think he’ll be ready to play,” he said. “He’s in practice every day. So he’s been well-organized when he’s there. He’s in really good shape. He’s worked hard. I’ll be honest, we’ve been playing every other day, so that’s under worry about tomorrow’s problems tomorrow. Right now our problems are we don’t run back on defense, we don’t block out all the time, so I’ve been spending all my time on that. But he’ll have a significant role right away.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
