Lakers: Julius Randle Suffering Most From Stagnant Offense

Jan 12, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (30) dribbles the ball as New Orleans Pelicans forward Dante Cunningham (44) defends at Staples Center. The Lakers won 95-91. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 12, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (30) dribbles the ball as New Orleans Pelicans forward Dante Cunningham (44) defends at Staples Center. The Lakers won 95-91. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Lakers’ stagnant offense is having the worst effect on Julius Randle, but it’s not unfixable

The Los Angeles Lakers picked up a gutsy, if not sloppy, win on Tuesday night. They defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 95-91, but displayed many of the same offensive problems that have plagued them throughout the season.

While they were able to manage an impressive comeback win, the Lakers continued their struggles in the first half, scoring just 38 points by halftime of Tuesday’s contest after managing a paltry 30 points against Utah on Sunday. While the Lakers are certainly improving, their issues on offense continue to limit the potential of the team’s young core, especially Julius Randle‘s.

The 21-year-old has failed to find an offensive groove of late, averaging just five points on 25.6 percent shooting over his last six games (Basketball Reference). While no player is immune to the effects of a stagnant, poorly-functioning offense, Randle especially has seen little opportunity to shine in an system that relies heavily on long-developing plays and isolation. The Lakers lead the league in isolation frequency, but remain one of the worst in offensive efficiency and points per game.

In Byron Scott’s sputtering offense, Randle often gets the ball 12-plus feet from the basket and frequently has to manufacture his own shot, scoring unassisted on 58.9 percent of his points, per NBA.com. Unfortunately, the second-year forward has trouble getting past people one-on-one without a respectable jump shot. This season, Randle is shooting just 21.1 percent from mid-range and 43.1 percent from inside the paint (NBA.com). Despite having a lightning-quick first step for someone his size, Randle has struggled as teams have learned to sag off him and cheat to his strong side.

Julius Randle – NBA.com
Julius Randle – NBA.com

A solution to this would be to run plays on the weak side for Randle to flash to the basket or at least gather some momentum before he catches the pass. Unfortunately, the Lakers move the ball very little as their Princeton sets often take too long to develop and focus primarily on creating mismatches rather than off-ball dives. As a result, the Lakers are dead last in secondary assists per game, a category strongly associated with efficiently functioning offenses, as seen by looking at the league leaders in that regard:

TEAMSEC AST/GRANK
GSW9.61st
SAS8.o2nd
ATL7.13rd
CLE6.54th
CHI6.o5th
PHI3.729th
LAL3.430th

The good news is, when Randle is getting assisted buckets, it’s more often than not coming courtesy of D’Angelo Russell, who has already assisted him 19 times. Their chemistry will only continue to grow as long as they share the court and consistent quality looks will be key to Randle’s scoring as he develops his game.

In the meantime, the former Kentucky Wildcat has been a force on the glass and is quickly establishing himself as an elite young rebounder. Randle leads all sophomores with 9.5 rebounds per game and ranks fourth in the entire league in defensive rebound percentage among qualified players (NBA.com). Although his defense has lapsed at times, he is finding ways to provide positive impact on both sides of the floor.

Next: Lakers Young Core Showing Hope For Free Agents

The Lakers are still a mess offensively, but things have been trending in the right direction since opening night. While the former seventh-overall pick continues to encounter hiccups offensively, he’s certainly not alone. Scott’s offense needs to make significant strides but if it does, Randle will certainly reap the benefits.