The New York Knicks were expected to be one of the powerhouses of the Eastern Conference before the 2023-2024 regular season commenced. Alongside Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle was the franchise’s go-to scorer. However, Randle had a horrible start to the campaign, causing the Knicks to lose four of their first six games.
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The player was extremely inefficient from the field and was constantly being trolled for abysmal shooting figures. However, the 28-year-old has now found his groove and playing like the All-Star many know and love.
Over the Knicks’ last five games, the forward has been averaging 24.5 points and 10 rebounds, leading the team to a solid 4-1 record.
Responding to all the naysayers, Kendra Randle – Julius’ wife – came to her husband’s defense. Taking it to X (formerly “Twitter”), she responded to a tweet that displayed the former Kentucky Wildcat’s numbers from his last five outings. She wrote:
“My TL been super quiet”
My TL been super quiet 🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫 https://t.co/wIFXz42sp4
— Kendra Randle (@KendraRandle_) November 16, 2023
With their latest win over the Atlanta Hawks, the New York Knicks improved to a 6-5 record. Further, the New York side also jumped up a few spots and is now 6th in the East.
Julius Randle has found his groove
Julius Randle did have a pretty forgettable start to his 10th professional campaign. The man lodged merely 15 points on a horrendous 29.5% FG and 64% FT during October.
However, his latest streak of brilliant performances has helped the 6ft 8” star improve his averages. Now, playing 34.5 minutes per game, the 2021 Most Improved Player is putting up 19 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on 35.2% FG.
During this span of not-so-great performances, the General Manager – Scott Perry – of the Knicks (2017-2023) was the only one who displayed some faith in Randle. While the entire basketball world was at the franchise’s throat, asking them to get rid of their forward, Perry stated that the Knicks shouldn’t trade away their star.
ESPN Malika Andrews: “Do you think the Knicks need to trade Julius Randle…?”
Scott Perry: “I do not think the Knicks need to trade Julius Randle at this juncture. Look, nobody’s on the horizon to me that’s better than this young man. What I know about Julius, he’s a… pic.twitter.com/RolWTx4U8b
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) November 14, 2023
Clearly, Julius has found his rhythm. It won’t be long before we see the franchise move up a couple of more spots in the standings.