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Los Angeles Lakers: Julius Randle continues to improve as season goes on

By Donny McHenry

SACRAMENTO, CA - FEBRUARY 24: Julius Randle #30 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game against the Sacramento Kings on February 24, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - FEBRUARY 24: Julius Randle #30 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game against the Sacramento Kings on February 24, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers power forward Julius Randle continues to develop as the season goes on.

Things have been going well for the Los Angeles Lakers lately. They’re currently riding a five-game winning streak after going 4-0 on a road trip. Everything for the team has gone rather well since their disastrous December, as the team is 17-10 in the new year of 2018.

This has been due to improved play from players like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and even Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. However, no one has improved the most as the season has gone on than Julius Randle.

The fourth-year big man has averaged 15.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on the campaign. Although, those numbers don’t come close to reflect how well he has done as of late. His numbers have all gone up as the year has gone on.

In the first full month of the season in November, Randle posted a line of 13.0/7.2/1.7 while having a true shooting percentage of 57.6. December he had a line of 14.2/6.5/2.1 with a 58.8 TS%. Then in January, he posted a line of 15.3/9.0/2.5 with a 61.1 TS%.

Those good numbers were blown out of the water by the former Kentucky Wildcat in the month of February. In the month, Randle averaged 19.4/9.0/4.3 while having a 60.5 TS%.

It was probably the best month of his career, and he probably won’t stop improving in March. Randle scored 25 points and had 6 rebounds on March 1st against the Miami Heat and posted the same line on March 3rd against the San Antonio Spurs.

Randle Rising as a Starter

If you take a look at Randle’s numbers as the season progresses, it’s clear where the improvement began. It all began when Randle was plugged into the starting lineup on December 29th.

He hadn’t started the whole season, as Luke Walton thought he would be better suited coming off the bench. Looking back on it, that might be the worst mistake Walton has made in his young coaching career.

Randle has seen a 6.9 increase in minutes per game since being moved into the starting lineup, and he’s drastically improved all his stats as well. For the first 33 games of the season when he came off the bench, Randle averaged 12.5/6.3/1.8 with a 59.4 TS%. Ever since he started on December 29th, Randle has averaged 18.0/8.9/3.2 with a 61.3 TS%.

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As I said, Walton may have cost the Lakers some early season wins by being reluctant to start Randle. But then again, maybe being on the bench motivated Randle, and we would have never seen this sort of output from him without riding the pine. Either way, hindsight is 20/20.

Impressive Improvement Over the Years

This season as a whole has been a career year for Randle, as he’s improved in almost every single statistical category.

Since the 2015-16 season, he’s improved his points per game by 3.8, his assists by 0.7, and his TS% by a whopping 12.3. Randle’s value has also increased exponentially, as his PER and Win Shares totals have gone up each year.

His PER was 13.9 in 2015-16, 16.3 in 2016-17, and 19.9 during this season. His PER of 19.9 for the season actually puts him in front of names like DeAndre Jordan, Paul George, and Kyle Lowry. With WS, Randle has gone from 1.6 in 2015-16, to 3.5 in 2016-17, and finally to 4.6 in this season. The 23-year-old just continues to get better and better as he gets older.

All in all, he has been an above average big this year and you see that when you look at the numbers. There are only four players in the NBA this year averaging 15.0/7.0/2.0 with a TS% over 60.0. Those four players are Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Julius Randle.

That may be a pretty specific stat, but being on any list with those three means you’re doing something right.

Important Offseason Coming

This is all coming in a very important year for Randle and the Lakers. The big guy will be a restricted free agent after the season, while the Lakers will be looking to sign one or two superstars to max contracts.

If the Lakers don’t get to sign one or two of those stars, they would definitely love to match an offer sheet and retain Randle. If they nail a deal for Paul George or LeBron James, then the team will have to decide if they can afford Randle’s price.

Next: Lakers 10 Greatest Draft Picks of All-Time

Whatever happens with Julius in this offseason, he has proven he can be a great piece for any team. Though we would all love to see him in the purple-and-gold once again.

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