Randall, a name that makes the Knicks happy and sad. The happy thing is that they have been messing around for so many years and finally saw hope in Randle last season. Sadly, Randle's performance declined after signing the top salary. Now, Randall has once again given the Knicks such mixed feelings.
In the most recent game, the Knicks beat the Kings, with Randall dropping 46 points and 10 rebounds on 18-of-31 shooting. In this big game, Randall's three-pointers are a staggering 8-of-16 shooting. For this season's overall shooting rate of only 41.9%, three-point shooting rate is only 30.9%, such a table is not easy, but also his best performance this season.
In terms of the Knicks' performance today, it has become difficult for them to hit the playoffs this season. In the face of difficulties, Randall's outburst may be a temporary relief for them.
But will Randall's outburst make the Knicks change their direction?
Hard. It should be reminded that the Knicks' big-win opponent, the King, currently ranks 13th in the West, continues to be in a state of flux. Therefore, taking the best data in front of such an opponent does not explain anything, let alone hide the fact that Randall is difficult to become a superstar.
To be sure, Randle's performance last season has far exceeded too many expectations. Averaging 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and six assists throughout the season not only made him an All-Star, but also made him the second-team and the fastest improving player. After such a big outbreak season, even if Randle and the Knicks stopped in the first round of the playoffs, it did not prevent the Knicks from dropping his salary last summer to renew his contract early. At that time, the Knicks expected him to continue to improve, and he was ready to do so.
It's just that from star to superstar, not every player can do it. Randle's performance in the playoffs last season proved that his regular season performance was not small, and the roughness of Randle's shooting and technique was very obvious when being targeted by opponents and becoming more and more physically confrontational. When the style of play has been formed, and the shooting has never been an advantage, Randall wants to kill a road on the inside line with a height of 2.03 meters, which dooms the road to the top of the mountain.
Randall is not the Warriors' Green, and although neither of them is tall, Randall also has the ability to maneuver, but it is not so prominent. Moreover, his defense is far inferior to Green's. When Green was not yet a superstar, Randall, who was technically rough, had not yet made great progress in shooting, and perhaps had difficulty improving a lot, became unrealistic to become a superstar.
This is also the reason why his performance fluctuates after being focused on defense. It is also because of the loss of patience with his performance that the Knicks will spread rumors that they are willing to trade everyone on the team, but the rumors are by no means empty.
At present, the reason why Randle can still stay in the Knicks is because the Knicks can't pack up and trade better players. If you can, the Knicks should not hesitate, after all, Randall's ceiling is already visible, although he is only 27 years old and has many years of golden career, but continue to use Randle as the core, the Knicks will be difficult to achieve a breakthrough. Instead of suppressing the heart that is eager to move, the Knicks, who have always had big dreams, should go around. In the future, whenever there is a chance to recruit undesirable superstars, I believe the Knicks will try to trade Randall. Before that, they can only continue to keep Randall, keeping the front line that the Lakers signed James but gave up in vain.