Julius Randle is coming up big in the NBA playoffs for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and everybody knows it. Somehow, though, he’s still not receiving enough credit for his body of work against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Hat tips aplenty continue to come his way, make no mistake. He’s averaging 22.5 points and 4.5 assists, while knocking down 45.5% of his triples, for the series. His offensive detonations have been so important—not to mention unexpected, when looking at his postseason track record—it is leading many to finally embrace the Karl-Anthony Towns trade.
Still, this only tells part of Randle’s story through the first round so far. He isn’t just delivering much-needed jolts on the offensive end. He is, for the most part, holding up his end of the bargain at the defensive end, too. And he’s limiting, if not flat-out shutting down, one of the NBA’s most dangerous playoff weapons in the process.
The Lakers can't score when Randle defends LeBron James
LeBron James is still pretty good at this whole basketball thing, despite being age 40. Nuclear-level hot take, I know. But his impact against the Timberwolves is somewhat muted, at least when he's forced to tussle with Randle.
Nobody on Minnesota has spent more time guarding LeBron. That is fairly predictable when looking at the makeup of these teams. Anthony Edwards held that honor during the regular season, but Randle and LeBron each missed a game in which the other played, and the addition of Luka Doncic was always going to reorient the Wolves' defensive plans.
At any rate, Randle is categorically exceeding expectations when lined up against the active GOAT. The Lakers' offense is averaging 0.75 points per possession when he registers as a defender on LeBron. That is brain-bending stinginess in a vacuum, and demonstratively lower than the 1.11 points per possession Los Angeles as a team is averaging for the series.
Granted, Randle cannot take all of the credit. He has a ton of supplementary help around him, as well as a generational backstop in Rudy Gobert. Randle has not been perfect when guarding LeBron, either. As one example, during the second quarter of Game 4, there was a clear miscommunication between him and Gobert on a switch after Rui Hachimura screened for LeBron. The end result was an egregiously wide-open three for Hachimura, which he knocked down.
Imperfection is not a demerit, though. Not when you consider the circumstances. LeBron isn't living at the rim when guarded by Randle. By this point in the series, the Lakers even seem to be going out of their way to not go after him. LeBron is much more inclined to call for a screen or keep the ball when he's matched up with, well, almost anyone else.
That is certainly how things played out in Game 4. LeBron attempted only nine shots overall. He also attempted 18 free throws and dished out eight assists, but Randle has committed just two shooting fouls on LeBron all series, and maybe three of those eight dimes in Game 4, specifically, can be attributed to Julius requiring help or not making the right or quick enough rotation when guarding someone else.
Julius Randle just might be a LeBron foil
It says more about Randle's effort and engagement that Minnesota is comfortable switching him, or not feeling compelled to send him a ton of help. Neither LeBron nor even Luka is dusting him off the dribble. The numbers support as much, particularly on the LeBron front.
Individual matchup data can be spotty, but it's at least a useful barometer. And through four games, LeBron is averaging one point per shot attempt when defended by Randle. That mark is not only worlds below James' regular-season average of 1.34, it is the best anyone on the Wolves is faring against him in this series, with the exception of Gobert.
Here's a look at how many points per shot attempt LeBron is scoring against every Minnesota player who's guarded him:
- Anthony Edwards: 1.85 points per shot attempt
- Jaden McDaniels: 1.5 points per shot attempt
- Naz Reid: 2.5 points per shot attempt
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker: 1.13 points per shot attempt
- Rudy Gobert: 0.92 points per shot attempt
- Mike Conley: 2.0 points per shot attempt
- Donte DiVincenzo: 1.75 points per shot attempt
These returns are a confluence of many factors. It is not only Randle limiting LeBron, and James is still finding ways to impact the game as a playmaker, and as a foul-drawing machine when Reid gets switched onto him.
At the same time, LeBron could be doing so much more damage, even if he is no longer the central focus of the Lakers offense. But he’s not. Through some stretches, he’s even felt non-threatening, if not outright nonexistent.
Randle isn’t just helping the Wolves generate this state of affairs. He’s actively driving them.
Dan Favale is a Senior NBA Contributor for FanSided and National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.