Knicks' Julius Randle has been powering to the basket, and it's paid off

PHOENIX — Before the season began, Julius Randle talked about a desire to be more efficient. When he said, “I think my efficiency will be a lot better this year. I think I understand the game at a higher level, so I think it will allow me to be a more efficient player, for sure,” the words were dutifully noted but also shrugged off in most corners.

He’d earned All-NBA honors last season, putting up more than eight three-point attempts per game. In the first six games this season, he hoisted 6.7 attempts per game from three-point range and connected on only 22.5% of them, shooting 27.1% overall.

But settling for those shots early in the season was not an indication that he wasn’t true to his word. He was working his way back from offseason surgery to correct an ankle injury that had spoiled the end of last season as he tried to play through the pain. He explained that he was working to find his rhythm. Then he found it — and also found a plan.

Randle has become dominant again in recent weeks, but not with his long-range shooting. He has been powering his way to the rim. There was a 41-point night in Milwaukee  in which he converted 12 of 13 shots when he held the ball for less than six seconds. In his last two games, he powered through Toronto and Utah defenders with ease, averaging 33 points per game and converting 71.4% of his shots from two-point range (while still just at 33.3% from beyond the arc).

In the last eight games before Friday night's game against the Suns, Randle averaged 28.6 points per game, shot 58% from the field and was at 40% from three-point range.

“What’s the answer? What changed? Just playing to my strengths,” Randle said. “Understanding spots on the court where I can get high-percentage shots where I can either get a high-percentage shot or they double me and I can kick out and playmake for my teammates. So I understand who I am as a player. While I can shoot the ball and make a ton of threes, I understand who I am as a player, what my strengths are.”

Randle has found his way to an efficient and productive form despite the numbers that are turning most players, even those with Randle’s size and strength, into three-point specialists. Even Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has embraced the style, pushing for more three-point attempts from the entire team.

“Well, the ball is going in the basket,” Randle said. "I mean, I talk to Thibs all the time. He likes what I’m doing.

“I think it kinda just goes hand-in-hand. I think from Thibs to the coaching staff to my teammates, they allow me to be me and try to work around that as well . . .  You can look back at who I was as a player before I got here. A lot of it was taking it to the basket, attacking the rim. As the years have gone on, I’ve added more to my game and gotten better as a player. While I can do those other things, it’s still who I am as a player.”

The style may change, but his play has him on track for a third All-Star berth in the last four years.

RJ Barrett, who has played beside Randle through his entire Knicks tenure, said, “Obviously, Julius has been there a couple times and what he’s doing — especially over the last couple of games — has been amazing.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

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.