One solid postseason isn’t necessarily enough to change a negative perception of a player. That may be the case for Julius Randle. Entering last year’s postseason, his struggles in the playoffs with the New York Knicks were talked about ad nauseam. In 15 playoff games with New York, Randle shot a brutal 34.4 percent from the field and had more turnovers than assists.
While he performed well, especially in the first two rounds of the 2025 NBA Playoffs during his first taste of playoff basketball with the Minnesota Timberwolves, there are still those wanting to see him do it again.
Randle is coming into this year’s playoffs well-rested, which should give him an advantage as the Timberwolves begin their series against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Randle sat out the final three gamesÂ
Other than the All-Star break, Randle hasn’t gotten to experience much rest this season. As a matter of fact, the 31-year-old participated in each of the Timberwolves' first 79 outings of the year. In 61 of them, he played more than 30 minutes.
It was the last three games of the regular season where Julius finally got to sit out. While his reason for being out was listed as right hand soreness, it was obvious that Randle was sitting out to get some much-needed rest heading into the playoffs. His 79 games on the year are the second-most he has played in his 12-year career, while his 2,610 total minutes are the third most in his career.
Feeling refreshed is certainly important, especially heading into a series with the Nuggets. Many are predicting the series to go seven, and Randle will have his battles down low with Nikola Jokic. Jonas Valanciunas is another bruiser for Denver off the bench. Aaron Gordon will try to give Julius fits as he is guarding him.
Especially since his previous playoff experience was with a large-market Knicks team, many are still going to think of his postseason struggles with them when thinking of Randle’s career to date.
He had two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder in last year's conference finals, where his shot wasn’t falling, and both resulted in losses.Â
This series against Denver is expected to be a hard-fought one. Very few are expecting it to be a short series, but also very few are picking the Timberwolves to advance (all 12 of ESPN's panel are picking the Nuggets).
However, a rejuvenated Randle can play a large role in sending the 2023 NBA champions home early and further change the narrative surrounding the 3-time All-Star not being able to perform when the stakes get higher.Â
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