Julius Randle Discussion: Beast, Ox, Monster, Lotus Flower

Randle will be our go-to guy after Kobe.

 

He has a pretty limited skill set. He can move in the open court and can handle the ball fairly well however we will have two people to do that for the next decade or so if they pan out so what we need from him is low post scoring on the offensive end. Right now, from what I've seen in the 2 summer leagues and preseason games is that he's not really that fundamentally sound in a lot of areas. In college his advantage in size and strength was all he needed but like a lot of physically gifted guys he'll find that the rest of the package is needed at this level.

Not in anyway to strike a comparison because Kobe was far more fundamentally complete at this age but even Kobe found that he needed to develop a lot of fundamental skills to be who he is/was.

I hope he's the "go to" guy or the "beast" or what ever other adjective superlative is attached to him however I think he will struggle to find consistency on the offensive end. I think if he can average any where from 9 to 12 ppg with 8 rebounds it will be a successful first full season.

 

From what I've seen so far of him I think your assessment is spot on. I think he could develop into a very good starting PF but like you I just don't see him destined to be a top 4 or 5 at his position. I hope I'm wrong but as you noted, the base skills are misplaced with him right now. I think if he concentrated on being a bruiser and a rebounder he'd be the most valuable to us in the short term.

 

Randle's stock sure has plummeted after 20 minutes of action

Players with his combination of speed and power are rare. We don't even know if he'll end up playing PF.

 

Last summer league and Preseason's numbers were about what we saw in his first game this summer league. All told he's shooting around 40% with about 5 boards a game in 28 minutes against admittedly lesser competition than he will face in a NBA regular season. That's the history of what he's done not just one game. Has he had one game in either summer league or preseason where he was as good as the game Okafor just played against us?

I've always said I support the kid and hope he's the "beast" some say however there are a lot of "rare speed and power" guys that don't make it. Physical tools are just part of the formula.

 

Reasoned optimism. That's my view too.

 

Yes, the last preseason game against the Blazers. He posted 17 pts with 7/10 shooting and 8 boards. And he made baskets from all over the court, against a legitimate playoff team.

I'm not basing my opinion off of one game either. I've watched enough of Julius to know that all of the criticism in this thread is a direct result of him not playing competitive 5-on-5 basketball for 8 months. I guess I'm the only one here that felt he showed more positives than negatives in those 20 minutes.

 

Most rookies or sophomores go through this funk known as the game being too fast phase... Once Randle and russell play more games and start to adapt to the speed of the game... watch out! Once the game slows down and they adapt you'll see the beast and playmaker in both these players. Have patience my brothers and sistas (if there are any lol) !! Usually it's the 3rd year where players find their niche

 

I actually don't mind the ISO from Randle at all, because I believe he has the ability.

A few takeaways from the TWolves game:

1. He likes to initiate contact - Nothing surprising here. But he's creating it unnecessarily rather than going straight to the hoop. A lot of those "awkward" shots he's getting off are falling short because of the contact. I think he could finish through it, sure, but he's only making things harder on himself. He started to get free in the 2nd half and made his way around Towns/Payne for a couple easy ones and that's what he can do. That first step of his is dangerous for his size and he needs to utilize that and just look to finish rather than create the contact. Additionally, as mentioned above, he will get called for some offensive fouls if he's just out of control. Noticed this last year as well.

2. He needs that 10-12 ft jumper on lock - It's going to seem most of Julius' work is going to come from the face-up midpost. His most striking weapon is again, that first step. He can take guys off the dribble with ease. However, once defenders start taking note of that, they'll give him that 10-12 jumper, like how most people have been guarding Blake Griffin. Blake has developed a decent jumper and he's kept guys honest on occasion, but Blake doesn't have the handles the way Randle does and that would really open a lot of avenues for Julius.

3. Vision - He has it, but when he drives, his head is down and he runs into traffic. If he dribbles with his head up, he can where he's going and open up options when he driving. Much like Clarkson last year, it will all about staying under control. I can't stress that enough for him, even moreso than Clarkson last year.

 

Jump Shot. Health.

That is it.

 

Nice breakdown. He'll be fine. The one takeaway that I learned from somebody about a great offensive player is they go to the spot they want and nobody stops them. Randle gets where he wants too go; he could be virtually unguardable. Let's give him some time too develop. We basically conceded this season as a time to develop the core, bring the vets to help that development, and be more competitive than last year.

 

While we say its going to take time for Russell, I think the same thing can be said for Randle. Sure he played in summer league, preseason, and a game in the regular season but he is still really young and new to the game. He is going to learn as he goes, or so we hope.

 

Randle needs to realize hes not gonna out jump anyone. He seems to struggle because of his size.

 

.....

 

Right now I hope he have enough basketball IQ to run a team play.

 

I've watched some of the first game and I've been watching this game from the start and Randle hasn't looked good at all. Looks unsure out there.

 

Poor decision making. He likes to drive in with a head full of steam and then muscle his way into scoring.

A little sloppy and out of control. Might want to revert back to his back to basket game a little and less facepp game