Julius Randle has been on a scoring frenzy as of late and is playing the best basketball of his career. Will he make amends for his playoff struggles 2 years ago?
Since becoming a Knick, Julius Randle has had his fair share of ups and downs. From winning the MIP award in 2021 to nearly getting booed off the court last season, there were questions about how productive Randle will be to the Knicks success this season. Well, the way Julius Randle is playing now, it’s hard to argue about his production.
He has been on an absolute tear.
Over the past 10 games, Randle has averaged 28.7 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 4 APG. He’s also shooting 45.1 % from the field and 35.3 % from the 3 point line. Plus, in his most recent dominating performance against the Timberwolves, he scored a career high 57 points. With the way that he’s been playing, it’s hard to not think about how this can translate into the postseason, which is something that’s probably on Randle’s mind as well.
As we all know, Julius Randle struggled in his last playoff appearance against the Atlanta Hawks in 2021. It was a pretty embarrassing way to end a stellar 2020-2021 campaign for both the Knicks and Randle. Especially considering that the series only went 5 games and the Knicks were favored to win.
With just under 10 games left in the regular season, The Knicks currently hold the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference and are likely to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round if they maintain the seed. They still have to tally up some more wins to avoid the play-in tournament. Either way, The Knicks will be depending on Julius Randle to continue his elite level of play. It seems like with the supporting cast that he has around him now, things will likely be different this time around in the playoffs.
Jalen Brunson has done wonders for Julius Randle’s game this season. Brunson’s play should allow Julius Randle to let loose offensively against whoever they might face in the playoffs (if they can clinch the seed). In the end, Randle is playing like he is on a mission and in order for the Knicks to make a deep playoff run, he will need to overcome his struggles from two seasons ago and put everyone on notice.
It’s redemption time.
