Going into the playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, would you have felt a bout of Déjà vu? After all, it was only last year when the squads of Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards had competed in the Western Conference Finals. Though the Slovenian may be in a different team now, he got LeBron James in exchange for Kyrie Irving, and other scorers comprising including Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, etc. Therefore, one would have expected the Lakers to dominate. However, with Chris Finch and his men securing the win in Game 1, one has to ask: Is the Luka Doncic-led Lakers not on the same caliber as the Mavericks? As it turns out, the fault might be both with the Lakers’ lapses along the Timberwolves’ growth.
Former NBA player and coach Sam Mitchell recently appeared as a guest on ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show’. As the conversation progressed, Mitchell talked up the Timberwolves’ chances against the Lakers. Stephen A. Smith provided the counterpoint by highlighting how the Luka Doncic-led Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves last year. Mitchell pointed out that this time, the Timberwolves have Julius Randle instead of Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns was a scorer and finisher, while Randle “wants to be a facilitator, he wants to make plays. That’s how Julius Randle feels his worth as a basketball player”. This, according to the former NBA coach, is something Chris Finch has already taken advantage of and will continue to do so.
“If you go back to Game 1, this is what messed the Lakers up with that small lineup. Austin Reaves, man, I felt sorry for him. Julius Randle and Naz Reid was just beating the Bejesus out of him, just backing him down, beating him up, and then this is the thing, Stephen A, that you know the game within the game,” said Mitchell.
He further added that “To me, people did not think about….. all they get caught up in LeBron Luka, Austin Reaves, the skill set. But they don’t understand, this game is going to be played in an alley. And Chris Finch is not going to let this game go up and down the court. he’s going to make it a half-court game because he’s going to make the Lakers be physical, and when the Lakers match up big, they’re too little”.
The following remarks by Sam Mitchell came right after LeBron James revealed knowing the threat Julius Randle poses to his team. During the Lakers’ practice session held before Game 1, reporters asked the 40-year-old what Minnesota has done right since Julius Randle’s return. LeBron didn’t miss a beat and replied, “Everything. Very very, you know, a good team and super well-coached”. We don’t know whether Chris Finch heard those remarks and then decided to use Randle as a pivotal part of his offensive play. Nevertheless, Finch adopted the same belief and put Randle at the center of things.
Jan 29, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA;Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) reacts against the Phoenix Suns in the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Timberwolves do not need another scorer when they have Anthony Edwards. Therefore, as highlighted by Sam Mitchell, Julius Randle can do things Karl-Anthony Towns couldn’t. He was certainly efficient in keeping Austin Reaves at bay, due to which the Lakers star could only score 16 points through 38.5% field goals and 37.5% 3-pointers. His efficiency rating was at -25, the lowest that he had recorded, only 1 other time this year, back in early January. As a whole, the Timberwolves squad kept the Lakers inside the paint and restricted. It worked well once, and Finch might not shy away from using it again. With this update, we see Julius Randle rising as a key playmaker for the Timberwolves. However, not everyone holds this opinion. While others like Sam Mitchell saw Game 1 and speculated how effective the 30-year-old could be, Nick Wright saw it and thought the opposite.
Nick Wright Considers Julius Randle a Silver Lining FOR LeBron James and Co: “Had some dumb fouls”
After the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 117-95 win against the Los Angeles Lakers, Nick Wright released another episode of his podcast, “What’s Wright with Nick Wright”. During the same time, the sportscaster and Fox Sports reporter gave Anthony Edwards and co plenty of kudos for doing the unexpected. However, he wasn’t that willing to give Julius Randle his flowers. In fact, Wright went on to say that “Now, another small silver lining for the Lakers if you’re not writing them off after Game 1: ‘Playoff Julius Randle’ does appear to be here. He had some dumb fouls. He seemed to be in a weird machismo thing with LeBron. He had a half dozen turnovers. Yes, he hit his threes but not much else”.
Julius Randle did fumble quite a bit against the Lakers. Out of the 10 turnovers the Timberwolves recorded, 7 of them were from Randle. His efforts to guard LeBron James weren’t too successful, as the Lakers star was still able to score 19 points. However, was Randle a big enough liability to assume that he would continue being an asset for the Lakers? Certainly not. After all, his pros overlap the cons. Plus, despite Randle being so bad in Wright’s eyes in Game 1, the Wolves still won by a 22-point margin. Though he wasn’t expected to, Randle still turned up on the scoring front by recording 16 points through 6-11 (54.5%) field goals, and 4-6 (66.7%) 3-pointers helping Chris Finch win the prestigious round.
Jan 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) looks on during the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Julius Randle will end up making Nick Wright eat his words once Chris Finch implements his strategy. Whether the Lakers themselves form a plan to counter the ‘half-court’ play is something that remains to be seen.
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