New York Knicks: Shot selection has unlocked the best version of Julius Randle

Julius Randle is a face-up nightmare

Per NBA.com, Randle is top 10 in both isolation and post-up touches per game, meaning the Knicks are essentially just finding a way to get him the ball in space and then getting out of the way. It’s not an elegant offensive strategy, but it’s easy to see why they do it:

In both of these clips, the Knicks run some pretty simple action to get Randle one-on-one opportunities. There aren’t many frontcourt players with the defensive versatility to deal with Randle’s combo of strength, quickness, ball handling, and now shooting touch.

When that’s the case, opponents take the next logical step and shade the defense towards Randle to provide quick help or just send a hard double team to get the ball out of his hands. That’s a dangerous game though, as Randle has shown the ability to carve up defenses who pay too much attention to his scoring:

I slowed this clip down at the start so you could clearly see what was happening. New Orleans recognizes that Randle going one-on-one out on the perimeter with Steven Adams is a mismatch, but they don’t want to bring a double team. Instead, they help off of everyone on the perimeter to pack the paint. At one point in this clip, every defender is either in the paint or just a step outside of it to prevent Randle from getting to the rim.

Adams actually does a pretty decent job of forcing Randle deep into the baseline, but Reggie Bullock is able to quickly relocate to the corner and Brandon Ingram isn’t able to recognize it and recover in time because he had his head turned to help on the drive. Randle sees it kicks it out for the open three.

That’s the bind that Randle can now put teams in. Don’t send help and he’s more than happy to go one-on-one against an over-matched defender. Or, send help and leave yourself vulnerable to his ability as a passer, hoping his supporting cast will miss the open shots that he’s created for them.