CHARLESTON, S.C. — Ever since the Knicks were eliminated last postseason in South Beach, Julius Randle has brushed aside questions about his dud playoffs.
He doesn’t use the bum ankle as an excuse.
He doesn’t acknowledge struggling.
Randle, quite purposely, doesn’t react.
Did he watch the film of the postseason?
“Yeah, I watched,” Randle answered.
What was the takeaway?
“Just my understanding of the game.”
A lot of nothing. A lot of defusing by disengaging.
After the first day of training camp Tuesday, Randle revealed that his approach to dealing with the media, and perhaps other potentially inflaming interactions, is influenced by a newfound fandom of Bruce Lee.
“You motherf—ers. That’s what it was about,” Randle joked when asked why he got into Lee. “Dealing with you all on a damn regular basis.
“I think my whole career being able to adapt, just my versatility being able to adapt to certain situations, just go with the flow,” Randle continued. “That’s what it’s about. Not reacting to certain stuff. Yeah, Bruce got a lot of hidden gems. He was ahead of his time.”
Randle became so enthralled by Lee and his quotes, the Knicks power forward last month got a tattoo of the 1970s martial-arts sensation in a fighting stance.
The premise of Lee’s most famous quote — “Be Like Water,” which loosely means being formless and flexible — applied to Randle’s final answer Tuesday on the subject.
“Whatever you said, that’s what goes,” Randle said.
Going with the flow.
Randle already practiced meditation to combat his very public bouts of anger on the court.
After a frustrating and ugly 2021-22, he seemed to turn a corner last season while reclaiming a spot in the All-Star Game.
But the end was concerning.
His ankle injuries, while noteworthy, couldn’t explain away the lackadaisical effort on defense — and frequently only on defense — in the playoffs.
It was especially alarming in Game 4 of the Cleveland series, when Tom Thibodeau benched Randle for the entire fourth quarter.
The 28-year-old never discussed that. At least not publicly.
But with his surgically repaired ankle fully healed, Randle wasn’t shy Tuesday about declaring himself a better version in his 10th NBA season.
“I think my efficiency will be a lot better this year,” he said. “I think I understand the game at a higher level, so I think it will allow me to be a more efficient player, for sure.”
Randle, who has evolved into a high volume 3-point shooter, shot 34.3 percent from beyond the arc last season. It was an improvement from his 30.8 percent mark in 2021-22, but significantly below the 41.1 percent gold standard Randle set during the pandemic season.
“I don’t know if it’s a goal to take more 3s or whatever it is,” said Randle, who led the Knicks with 218 made 3s last season, by far the most in his career. “But I understand how to get them. Which ones are good ones. Which ones are bad ones.”
Randle’s efficiency, while never near the top of the PER rankings, was fine in the regular season. It couldn’t stop him from earning another All-NBA selection, named to the third team. But then the playoffs arrived, and everything fell off a cliff. He went from struggling to frustrated to elimination to the operating table.
For the next five months, Randle got more familiar with film sessions.
He studied LeBron James.
He studied Jimmy Butler.
He studied Bruce Lee.
Soon enough, we’ll see where going with the flow takes Randle. He’s confident.
“I think my understanding is a lot clearer, for sure,” Randle said.
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