Randle off the catch has defenders laying off him daring him to shoot that mid-range shot. There are reports that he is very good at it in practice. Randle does not take it during the game however...lack of confidence or fear of the short hook to the bench. I don't mind him abusing similar sized defenders in the low block doe.
Doesn't make sense to me that Luke wouldn't give him even one start at the 4 or 5 once the season started and there were opportunities. Unless the FO was maybe involved. When the meeting happened they all said enough is enough let's see what he's got ....if he can back it up.
I said "when there were opportunities". Wasn't Brook out some games? Wasn't Nance out some games during that odd affair he was having with Luke? Randle got none of those starts until the famous meeting this year.
He was flat out destroying Bender out there on the block tonight. That was hilarious and fun to watch. Came down to earth again once again for a while in the third with some bad plays, but came back strong again in the end. 21, 8 and 5 on nearly 70% shooting? Yeah, I'll take that.
Randle is the happiest I've seen him in a long time; and I really believe he has changed the FO's perspective on whether or not it's best to invest in him long-term with his recent play as of late; that, and a couple of other reasons.. Either way, I think the odds of us re-signing are pretty good this summer...
Randle won't need to pay for food if he keeps taking his opponents lunch money like that. Add Bender to the list.
Color me impressed with how he is sustaining his level of play. He's always been capable of amazing moments and spurts, but now the young man is showing the consistency of a pro.
Randle is playing with a level of confidence/decisiveness I’ve never seen from him. When he gets the ball anywhere near the hoop I’m almost surprised at this point if he doesn’t convert a layup. When he’s getting the ball iso in the corner he’s making better decisions than he ever has as well, and he’s developed some nice chemistry with Ingram. Yes, he still makes dumb mistakes, turnovers, fouls, but the level of consistent scoring he’s risen to is remarkable. Where before he’d miss gimmes spun out, now it’s nothing but net or a perfect bank. Where he would get rejected under the hoop before against length, now he’s absolutely bullying and bouncing defenders off himself to create space, but using his body and not his arms as much, thus not inviting the refs to call as many fouls on him. If he isn’t traded by the deadline I won’t be disappointed, we shouldn’t be in a hurry to dump him (Clarkson, not being a FA this summer, is a different matter).
man, said it before and i'll say it again...F*** luke and the FO for how they treated Randle earlier in the season. Like straight up...what the **** were we doing with him to start the season? How many wins did it cost us to have him playing 8 minutes a game? The guy is a BEAST and is someone we absolutely need to retain this summer IF we strike out on superstar FA's (highly likely).
Yes, Randle seems to finally become someone to rely on. I'm very surprised at his consistent play this year. Even though his glaring weaknesses (rim protection and shooting) remain as weak as ever, he is beasting in some other areas. His FG% has gone up dramatically every year in the league and his D has improved quite a lot. Giving credit where credit is due. He is a big part of the recent success of this team. As soon as he came to the starting lineup the team improved. One has to slap Walton for his beyond dumb idea to bench him.
Yes you’re absolutely right. Setting hard screens and rolling hard to the rim could be so key for Julius and our team in general when he is playing the 4. How many 4’s are stopping him in the pick and roll? What does Julius setting a proper screen do for buying our ball handler time in the PnR to make decisions. Rebounding is a gimme, and we know he can do it. It’s an effort thing. The shooting, finishing with his right hand and defending PnR is more hoping at the moment. If he could do all that, we would be looking at a 20/10/5 player with probably a block and a steal a game and good defence.
I'm still curious as to why he was not getting the mins earlier in the season... I'm sure that's cost us some games..
Starting Nance over Randle was an asinine idea from Walton. I could have understood starting Kuzma with the thinking that he is a longterm cornerstone while Randle is a one year rental. But starting Nance made zero sense. And his BS explanation how he wanted to see which units have better chemistry too. Randle came into camp clearly in better shape. Instead of rewarding his summer workouts they slapped him.
