Coming into the 2023-24 NBA regular season, the New York Knicks were a team that many people thought could make some noise in the Eastern Conference. While other contenders underwent major roster shuffles, the Knicks brought back nearly their entire rotation, opting for chemistry and cohesion.
But, one of the keys to their season’s success is power forward Julius Randle. An All-Star and All-NBA Team nominee in two out of the last three seasons, Randle is an integral part of the team’s success.
When he plays well, the team is dominant. But, when he is playing poorly, he brings down the production of everyone around him. Unfortunately, that is what we have seen in the early going of the season, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
The Knicks are 2-3 after an embarrassing loss to a short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers team on Wednesday night, who they beat by 18 the previous night. It was another disastrous shooting night for Randle, who went 3-of-15 from the field and 0-for-6 on 3-pointers.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Julius Randle Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks Updates
That puts Randle at 27.6 percent shooting on the season through the first five games. According to KnicksMuse on X, formerly known as Twitter, that is the third-worst shooting percentage through the first five games of a season in NBA history, with a minimum of 75 shot attempts.
The only players worse was Jim Jackson in 2000, who shot 26.6 percent and Woody Sauldsberry in 1959 who shot 23.8 percent.
If you take a little deeper dive, things actually get worse for Randle. According to Tommy Beer on X, via Basketball-Reference, Randle is having the worst shooting start to a season for someone who averages at least 15 shots over the first five games.
No player has ever shot below 30 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 65 percent from the foul line before Randle this season.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Julius Randle Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks Updates
Missing shots happen; no one is going to be perfect shooting the ball. But the frustrations with Randle mount because on top of the shooting struggles, he is making poor decisions when the ball is in his hands and showing lackluster effort and intensity on both sides of the court.
Struggling is something fans can accept, everyone has down points in the season. But effort and energy are something that can be brought on a nightly basis and through the first five games of the season, Randle isn’t providing that nearly enough to make up for his shooting woes.
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