New York Knicks: Three Players Who Should Thrive Under Tom Thibodeau

Julius Randle

Julius Randle didn’t live up to the hype in his first season with the Knicks. His averages of 19.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game were solid, but they don’t tell the whole story. The former seventh overall pick was extremely turnover-prone, and his three-point percentage of 27.7% provided almost no floor spacing.

However, there is some hope that Julius Randle can turn things around. Former head coach David Fizdale tried to utilize Randle as a “point-forward”, often having him bring the ball down the court and initiating the offense.

This ended up being a mistake, as Randle is at his best when operating in the post. Interim head coach Mike Miller noticed the error and switched things up during his stint, and the results are much better.

Under Miller, Randle averaged 20.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 47% from the field and 30% from three. Tom Thibodeau is known for his post-centric offense, which likely means that Randle will be putting up numbers similar to the aforementioned stats under Miller.

Thibodeau also heavily prioritizes corner threes, especially with stretch bigs. Randle isn’t a great shooter from behind the arc, but he’s slowly improving. He connected on 39% of his corner threes this past season as a Knick and has hit 36% of his shots from the corner during his NBA career.

It’s also important to remember that Julius Randle is still just 25 years old, which means that he is just starting to enter his athletic prime. If anyone can get him to reach his All-Star potential, it’s Tom Thibodeau.