Julius Randle led all Knicks scorers again on Friday, pouring in 21 points in 30 minutes of action to lead New York to an easy 121-96 win over the Magic in the team's first road contest of the season.
But Randle, who dropped a team-high 35 in Wednesday's season-opening win over the Celtics, also led the way in another category, tying for the team lead with seven assists on Friday night.
For Randle, his assists continue to be a catalyst in the makeover that began to take shape last season, when he took home the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. With Randle's offense taking up the bulk of opposing defense's attention, his ability to find open teammates has been a massive boost for the Knicks offense.
"Once our team was set, I understood the guys we had and what I could do to play off them and make things easier for them," Randle said. "You just kind of feel things out. For me, that's basically what it is. I felt things out on everybody's strengths, what they like to get to, how I can help them be better, and by doing that, I just make things easier on myself.
"If they want to play me straight up, fine, great. If not, I'm gonna bait and try to create opportunities for my guys and get them going."
Randle played a big part in getting the Knicks humming from downtown on Friday, assisting on three 3-pointers in the first half to help New York on its way to setting a franchise record with 24 triples on the night. In his first year with the Knicks, Randle averaged 3.1 assists per game, and that number nearly doubled to 6.0 last year. He's averaging eight through the first two games this season, while his scoring prowess from last year has remained, averaging 28 points per game.
"Honestly, it's just a lot of years of work and dedication," Randle said. "Just crafting my game, trusting and believing in myself. And it was a perfect storm. Coming here, Thibs put me in a positon that he's put me in and empowering me to be a leader for this team. For me, my responsibility I to just go out and play for my teammates, and everything else falls into place."
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Randle turned himself into an All-Star under Tom Thibodeau last season, taking a dramatic leap into becoming a bonafide scorer in the league. But he has also turned himself into a formidable passer, which has once again been on display this season. Not only has Randle made himself a drastically better player in a short amount of time, but he is making others around him better in the process.
"You guys can see it when you're watching," Randle said. "It's a lot of fun out there playing, and that's how we want it to be. We know the hard work and how much time we put into this game. We go out there, and whether it's a tough game or not…we have a lot of fun playing for each other out there."
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