Since the All-Star break came to an end, the Minnesota Timberwolves and their fanbase are still awaiting Julius Randle to make an impact, particularly on the offensive end.
The Wolves have now returned for 11 contests since the conclusion of the break. On Friday, they put an end to their three-game losing streak by defeating the (shorthanded) Golden State Warriors by the score of 127-117. In a game that was never out of reach, conspicuous by his absence was Randle, who sat for the final 9:34 of the fourth quarter.
Randle struggles again on Friday
Yes, the Warriors were missing Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and they lost Al Horford, Quinten Post, and Seth Curry to injury during Friday night’s outing. However, the Timberwolves just desperately needed a win, and they found a way to do so, led by Anthony Edwards’ 42 points.
Randle was taken out of the contest about 2.5 minutes into the fourth quarter. The 31-year-old’s night proved to be over at that time, as he was never reinserted. It was a statement made by Chris Finch that the team’s second-leading scorer isn’t fearful of keeping Randle out during crunch time.
On the evening, Randle ended up playing just shy of 27 minutes, finishing with 11 points on 5-11 shooting (0-for-2 on 3-point tries).
The three-time All-Star grabbed just four rebounds and dished out only one assist while turning it over four times. Remarkably, he didn't have a point, rebound, or assist in 10 second-half minutes. Julius certainly isn’t used to being left on the bench at the end of a close game, but it’s been a lengthy stretch now where his production has dipped immensely.
Randle's post All-Star break hasn't gone well
As previously mentioned, Minnesota has now played in 11 games since returning from the All-Star break. Randle has played in all of them (and every game this season). In those outings, the power forward is averaging 13.7 points to go along with 6.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 3.2 turnovers. He is shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 15.2 percent from beyond the arc.
That is a far cry from what he was able to do prior to the break. In those 55 outings, he posted averages of 22.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.5 turnovers. He was also a much more efficient scorer as evidence by his 49.2 field goal and 32.5 3-point percentage.
Now in his 12th season and second with the Timberwolves, Randle hasn’t been known for his work on the defensive end. That has continued this season as he often hasn’t been very engaged on that side of the ball, so if he isn’t scoring, his impact declines sharply.
Thus far since the break, Randle has only one game where he has scored 20-plus points. This is a player that reached that scoring output 32 times before it. There’s a reason that he was seen as one of the bigger All-Star snubs just a month ago. Now, he doesn’t have Finch’s full trust in remaining in the end of a close game.