From the moment this season began, there were a lot of questions surrounding the Minnesota Timberwolves. Of course, when you trade a former franchise player the week before training camp, the story for that team is always going to revolve around that critical moment. Nothing the Wolves did, positive or negative, was going to happen this season without connecting it to Karl-Anthony Towns.
As a result, when Minnesota was struggling early this season? The KAT trade was the obvious element to point to. And while losing Towns was obviously less than ideal, some had it in their heads that this team was never going to get past trading him. When you pigeon hole yourself into this mindset, you will never allow yourself to enjoy the process of watching a team succeed, fail, and grow by overcoming challenges.
This Timberwolves team has made a tremendous amount of progress since the third week in October when the season began. They have worked out their offensive struggles and overcome injury problems to be right on the precipice of claiming a top six spot in the Western Conference standings. The return of Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle have proven to be massive for this team's performance, and as it pertains to Randle, one stat stands out among the rest: Minnesota has won their last 10 games when he was able to play.
The Timberwolves are 10-0 in last 10 games Randle has played
Since Randle has returned to the lineup after coming back from his groin injury, the Timberwolves have won all five of their games. Their offense has been positively humming, in stark contrast to the same offense that could not crack 110 points just a few months ago. In the last five games (all wins), Minnesota is scoring 1.25 points per possession.
The Wolves also won the five games in a row prior to Julius' injury dating back to the end of January. If you want to find the last time they lost with him in uniform, you would have to go back to Monday, Jan. 20 at Memphis. The fact that this team is winning with him in the lineup is far from a coincidence, as his play style has been highly conducive to good basketball as of late.
Randle has been playing a sort of "pass first" style where he is setting his teammates up before looking to score himself, and fans are taking notice. In the win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, he had several outlet passes that raised the eyebrows of those on social media. Julius has flirted with a triple double on multiple occasions, coming just a few assists or rebounds shy in the last three games.
It is clear that Randle is finally meshing perfectly with this team, and no one should be surprised. We knew that this outcome was possible way back in October, but it was always going to be about being patient enough to see it come to fruition. Chris Finch has been adamant about "letting the cake bake," and now we are seeing the results.