Kawhi Leonard Reacts to Julius Randle Drawing Inspiration From Him
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Julius Randle credited his improved play from watching Kawhi’s championship run with the Raptors
Julius Randle has been an absolute star this season and actually credited some of that improvement from watching Kawhi Leonard.
“I really watched a lot of Kawhi and his championship run with Toronto, and for me watching that, it helped me learn what I really wanted to be specific about as far as being able to get to spots on the court,” Randle said on a podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski. “Last year was a big learning experience for me, like, I can’t just bully to the rim every time — it’s not going to be just shoot threes or bully to the rim. I’ve got to have some kind of in-between game where defenses load up on me, I can get to my spots and rise.”
Randle’s Knicks proved themselves victorious against Leonard’s Clippers in a very pivotal matchup for New York. Leonard still hasn’t had a great performance since coming off of his lower leg injury that made him miss nine games. Nonetheless, Kawhi was grateful to Randle drawing inspiration from him.
“That’s great,” Kawhi Leonard said. “That’s what we here for. To inspire the guys that come in behind you… You could definitely tell how much he’s working.”
One of the most unexpected developments of the season is seeing Julius Randle lead the New York Knicks to a potential home-court first-round matchup in the playoffs. The Clippers have locked in home court in the first round of the playoffs, and now look to create some continuity in these final regular-season games. If the Clippers want to reach the promised land, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have to play better than they did against the Knicks.
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