Harrowing Julius Randle stat encapsulates his playoff struggles

After a miserable postseason history with the New York Knicks, Julius Randle began to change the narrative that he couldn’t perform in the playoffs with his series last year against the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. 

Some changed their tune about what they thought of Randle. Others wanted to see if he could do it again. The 2026 playoffs have seen the 31-year-old once again experience some major woes. Per the All NBA Podcast’s X page, the 3-time All-Star is providing just 0.85 points per direct touch, the second-worst mark in the postseason since 2013-14 (minimum 300 touches).

Anybody who has been paying attention to the Wolves in the playoffs can understand why Randle's points per direct touch have been so low. Not only has his scoring efficiency been poor, but he has more turnovers than assists.

Randle’s postseason woes have returned

In the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 11 outings in this year’s playoffs, Randle is shooting 66-for-164 from the field (40.2%), 10-for-39 from 3-point distance (25.6 percent), and 47-for-63 from the foul line (74.6 percent). That pales in comparison to his regular season shooting splits of 48.1/31.5/80.2. He has also committed 34 turnovers, one more than the 33 assists he has dished out.

Things have gotten even worse during the San Antonio series. It’s down to just 0.72 points per direct touch for Randle in five games. Randle is shooting 36.6 percent in the Western Conference semifinals and averaging 3.6 turnovers per contest. Julius hasn't made more than 41.7 percent of his field goal attempts in any game this series so far.

The only player averaging fewer points per direct touch in the playoffs since 2014 is DeMar DeRozan. In 2016, while with the Toronto Raptors, he shot 39.4 percent from the field, 15.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 81.3 percent from the charity stripe while turning it over 2.3 times per outing. Toronto reached the conference finals despite DeRozan’s struggles, losing in six games to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Minnesota also still has a chance to reach the conference finals, even with its second option’s rough playoff run. It would involve needing to win both Game 6 and Game 7, though.

Another disappointing showing on Thursday that sees the Wolves get eliminated will turn the page to the offseason. Timberwolves fans are calling for Anthony Edwards to have more help on the offensive end, and they will hope Minnesota finds a way to get it in a trade involving Randle.

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