Julius Randle, a legitimate All-Star candidate, is a car that drives the Knicks’ revival.
This is how Randle was described by veteran teammate Austin Rivers and first-year head coach Tom Thibodeau, respectively, after the emerging power forward and the sudden triple threat posed the rising Knicks to their fifth win in six games Wednesday night against Utah at the Garden.
Thibodeau’s arrival and a dedicated commitment to his conditioning apparently unlocked a new level of play from Randle, who was signed by the Knicks to a three-year deal worth $ 62.1 million as a free agent in 2019.
The former Kentucky star averages a career high of 23.1 points, 12.0 rebounds and especially 7.4 assists per game – while scoring the most minutes in the NBA (38.6 mpg) – ahead of Friday’s home game teen Oklahoma City.
“He’s our engine. … He does everything, ” Thibodeau said. ‘To play great minutes, come the next day and work, take care of his body, great with recovery, great in the movie sessions. This is the type of leadership that is invaluable to a team.
‘I think if you look at most of the players in this league, there is a progression to becoming the kind of players. They just do not come there overnight. There are steps they need to take, and I think he did. ‘
The 26-year-old Randle reported to training camp in early December ‘in incredible shape’, Thibodeau added, allowing him to regularly record heavy minutes while rookie forward Obi Toppin (calf) stays on the sidelines.
The Lakers’ seventh overall pick in the 2014 draft averaged 16.1 points and 9.0 boards over his first six NBA seasons. The series also included a one-season stop with Anthony Davis in New Orleans before Randle signed with the Knicks.
Randle has never been selected in an All-Star team in his career, but Rivers believes his new teammate has played at that level so far during the Knicks’ first 5-3 start since 2013.
“The biggest surprise for me was his vision, his willingness to succeed and his conditioning,” said Rivers, a nine-year veteran, after contributing 14 of his 23 points from the bench in the fourth quarter against the Jazz. . “He’s incredibly good at doing that. He plays most of the game. He does it on both sides. He speaks. He was wonderful to us.
“He plays at an All-Star level, you can not deny that at all. So we need him to keep going. ”
Randle more than doubled his career assistant output and finished seventh in the league in that category until Wednesday, after scoring just 2.8 over his first 375 career games.
“It’s honestly fun for me,” Randle said after the game Wednesday. ‘To see my teammates get off ball screens or handoffs or if they double me in the post or whatever it is is to make the right game for me and hit guys when they’re open.
‘It leads to us playing hard for each other on the defensive side. When we all know that we are going to come out together and make the right play and pass and just play for each other. That’s great. We all have fun doing it, and I do it fun too. ”