Lakers: Has Julius Randle Taken the Next Step?
Julius Randle has always had a nice skill set, but he’s just now getting the opportunity to use all of his game. Has he finally taken the next step?
Julius Randle is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to his potential.
On one hand, he’s still the same player who averaged a double-double in his first full season as a pro. On the other hand, that same player shot 43 percent from the floor and was generally a black hole whenever advanced stats were brought into the picture. Randle showed last year that he has all of the physical tools to be a productive NBA caliber player and this year he’s finally putting it all together.
What hampered him in his first season was questionable decision making and shot selection. Fast forward to this year and Julius is now a significantly better passer and decision maker than he was last year. He is still displaying impressive handles and speed for a power forward and instead of running straight into people and putting up heavily contested shots in the paint, Julius is playing much more under control and has been doing an excellent job setting up his teammates.
This has been evident with his increased role on the team. Because the team traded away it’s leading scorer, the rest of the team has had to pull their weight, and Randle has done well in that regard.
Now that Lou Williams has been traded, the young-ins have finally had a chance to showcase their skills, particularly D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac have shown large improvement since the trade. Julius Randle has also shown major improvement since the trade; it’s gotten overshadowed by the rest of the young core.
Julius Randle has really been doing it all since the Lou Williams trade. Since trading away Williams, Randle has kept his scoring steady, averaging 14.6 points per game while increasing his shooting percentage; he’s shooting 54.1 percent true shooting percentage from the floor compared to 53 percent pre-trade. He even added a career-high 32 points against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
More from Lake Show Life
- Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
- Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
- Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
- Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
- Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated
The big difference since the trade has been how well he has been doing everything else. Since that time, Randle has significantly upped his rebounding and assists numbers, as he is averaging 11.5 rebounds per game and 4.3 assists per game since the break, both significant increases to his pre-All Star Game numbers. To put that into proper context, Randle would be ranked 6th among qualifying centers and power forwards in assists per game with those 4.3, right underneath Denver’s Nikola Jokic. The rebounding total would have Randle ranked 8th in the league, just underneath Anthony Davis.
Not only that, but Randle has done this while managing to decrease his usage percentage by 1 percent. Clearly, he’s doing more out there with less. Despite the shooting numbers going down a bit, Randle is clearly showing off his own potential. There’s really no other big man that possesses his combination of handles, speed and playmaking.
Next: Lakers: The Trade That Gets Timofey Mozgov Out of LA
He still has a very long way to go. With any prospect, the key is going to be consistency and as Randle continues adding to his game, that consistency should come naturally. There’s no reason to not be optimistic about Julius and his skill set and he is showing everyone what he’s all about.