Right now, the vibes surrounding the Minnesota Timberwolves aren’t all that good. They have lost three straight and are an average 19-18 over their last 37 outings. Not exactly title-contender-like play.
Sometimes it’s important for the fanbase to look for silver linings during periods like this when the regular season is winding down, and the playoffs are right around the corner. After a rough stretch, Julius Randle seems to be playing at or near his best of late as he looks to further change the narrative of being a postseason dropper.
With Anthony Edwards missing eight of the last 10 outings, the Timberwolves have struggled mightily scoring the basketball. That’s somewhat understandable, given that their superstar top scorer mostly hasn’t been around, although it’s rather discouraging that Minnesota is last in offensive rating since March 19.
Of late, there have been few positives on that end of the floor. One of those has been Randle, though. As the playoffs are nearly upon us, this comes at an ideal time and also comes after Julius really went through a rough stretch right after the All-Star break.
Randle is trending in the right direction
In each of his last four games, Randle has made exactly nine field goals. His scoring has also come in a rather efficient manner. He has attempted 14, 15, 15, and 16 field goals in those four contests, meaning he’s on a stretch of shooting well over 50 percent in each contest (60 percent overall). It’s his first time having at least four straight games connecting on at least half his shot attempts since he did in five consecutive games from December 29-January 6.
The three-time All-Star has also been knocking down his 3-pointers, something that has been an issue for him all season long. While he went just 1-of-5 in their most recent outing on Sunday, Randle made 6 of his 11 attempts from beyond the arc over the previous three games. This is a player who was a brutal 23 percent from 3-point territory in the 24 outings from February 2 until March 28.
Randle barely has more assists (13) than turnovers (12) in the past three games. It hasn’t been perfect. Still, with his shot falling, Julius has also looked more engaged on the defensive end.
The hope is that once the playoffs begin, Edwards is back up to speed. Jaden McDaniels finds his way back onto the court. Another important element will be Randle continuing to make his shots, much like he did in last year’s playoffs (something he never did with the New York Knicks).