With Julius Randle and Derrick Rose shaping up, Knicks hope to play faster
Julius Randle of the NY Knicks answering questions moment from the media on media day at the NY Knicks training facility in Greenburgh,NY Mon. Sept. 26, 2022. Credit: Errol Anderson
When the Knicks missed the playoffs last season, they had plenty of time for vacations.
More than one of their players came back showing off beach bodies, having dropped weight. They readily posted shirtless workout videos as they attempted to get in better shape to help speed up the team's sluggish pace.
Derrick Rose insisted on doing his media day session shirtless, bragging about the 20-pound weight loss he achieved after another injury-ruined season. Julius Randle refused to put a number on it but said he went into the summer intent on slimming down and speeding up.
And that — speeding up the NBA’s second-slowest pace of play last season — may be the biggest change for the Knicks this season.
By arriving at camp in better condition, paired with the arrival of Jalen Brunson and the return of a healthy Rose, the Knicks believe they can be off and running this season.
“That’s the goal, yeah,” Randle said. “Play faster, recover better, all those different type of things. As you get more and more seasons under your belt, you want to continue to stay on top of your body and give yourself the best possible chance to be the best version of you every night, so that was the goal, for sure.
“Another season under my belt. I want to be able to adjust and play faster, play on and off the ball. For me, being in shape is always number one, so I take pride in that and every year I try to go back . . . and adjust how I can be better and play faster and quicker basketball, be efficient.”
The Knicks believe that putting the ball in Brunson’s hands to orchestrate the offense will help Randle return to the form of two seasons ago. Randle's shooting dipped last season and his frustration rose.
"For [Randle], because of the strength of the club, we can use him in different ways,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He doesn’t always have to have the ball. He can play off the ball. We can use him in pick-and-roll. There’s a couple plays in which when he catches it and he catches it on the run, he’s very hard to stop because of his quickness and his strength . . . So the more he plays like that, the more he moves without the ball, the more he can run the floor and the better it is for us. And for him. Because the game is easier. When you have the ball, you’re going to have the ball locked into you. Then you have to move the defense before you can really get to the point of attack to get into the paint to force the defense to collapse.
“For him, every year you want to add to your game. Having coached against him, one of the things I worried about is him running the floor. So if we can get him down the floor and catch small guys on him, catch the defense before he’s set, that’s a big advantage for us. Playing off the ball and catching it on the run, and driving it through the elbow. Those are things that he’s done well in the past and I want him to get back to that. I want there to be a versatility to his attack so it’s not one-dimensional.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
