Right now all phases of his game are a work in progress. Randle is far from a finish product. In time, he'll put it all together so whatever that ceiling is we'll find out soon enough. What I'm happy with Randle is that he's kept working not letting the inconsistent rotations or any of the distractions this season affect his focus.
i noticed that, too. but i actually do think there's probably something to that. lots of the great rebounders couldn't really articulate a strategy (barkley's famous strategy was: "go get the damn basketball"). rather, they claim to have an intuitive sense of where the ball was going to end up. this stuff is probably happening subconsciously. so, if the ball frequently just lands in the same guy's hands, it's probably not an accident--even if it doesn't appear remarkable.
Rodman once spoke of learning how to judge the trajectory of the shot and how or where it was going to bounce off the rim so he could position himself. Sure it is too early to place Randle in the same conversation but who knows if he has the same innate talent.
rodman has always been crazy. I believe that he watched a lot of shots, but my guess is that he was a great rebounder before he started doing that. now, how the subconscious vault of shot trajectories gets build is rather mysterious (like anything, a combo of an innate kind of pattern recognition and experience).
Randle started shaky, his effort was questionable, but he too, in the end, gave his all. He was the guy at the rim meeting the offense player and getting those last 2 stops. He challenged one drive, then he at least got a hand on Haywards last drive. He was going for the stops and the boards, and I have to appreciate that, it's all I asked for in this game. Russ too had some max effort on some of those last defensive plays, he was running all over, even went in for a key board I believe.
Randle was setting really solid screens on Hayward at the end, too. He was putting his whole body into it, and only looking to get Kobe open. That was good to see.
I'm glad the refs stopped calling that weak crap in the end anyway, it's been allowed against us for years, and continuing to call it in this game would have ruined Kobe's moment. Let them play, way more entertaining.
I was literally laughing aloud when I saw Julius lay that last screen on Hayward to spring Kobe free. It was AWESOME! Totally KG level moving screen, but completely effective. I loved that he did it. I loved that the refs allowed it. I loved that Kobe used it. It was a magical moment in a magical game for me. I love Julius and I make no bones about it. I was with Weezy and PO'd at him when he wasn't bringing the energy early in the game. But he more than made up for it.
Julius is my guy and we all know he's Kobe's biggest fan and is the closest guy of our youngsters to Kobe's mentality. I'm sure helping Kobe get to that record and get to that point was something he took pride in. He started off VERY lethargic, but I think once he saw things were rolling, he was all in.
Who cares if the screens were illegal or not? He set them like his life depending on it (the last 2 screens I seen); good job. Get some contact on those damn screens, young man!!
They're only illegal if the whistle sounds, right? I mean DeAndre Jordan and Draymond Green haven't set a single legal screen all year, why can't Julius do the same? I loved his screens. He set a screen like a fullback coming through the line! Set the tone young fella. Teams should know when they're going to play Julius Randle, they're going to leave with some bumps, bruises, and maybe a little blood.
^^ My sentiments exactly, realdeal and RandleROFY. If Tim Duncan, KG, Draymond, and Jordan can make careers getting away with moving screens then Julius can learn and borrow from the best. Like real said, it's only illegal if you get called for it!! He did the right thing - go for it full on and let the refs decide. That last one was just so insane and comically so, but it worked!!
When asked about his screens last night he said he'd "never set screens like that for anyone else", said it was a special night and Kobe was a special case. He also admitted he was setting some really illegal screens.
Breaking: Los Angeles Rams are in contract negotiations to bring young fullback Julius Randle to the team from the Los Angeles Lakers. After seeing his game clinching blocks on Kobe's final drive, the Rams see him as a solid addition to the team and the philosophy they want to establish.
