Right before training camp, the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves engaged in a shocking deal. Going to NY was Karl-Anthony Towns. Heading to Minnesota were Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. It was a risky move for both teams, particularly the Timberwolves. They were fresh off a Western Conference Finals appearance, and the move could disrupt chemistry. Plus, they would be acquiring Randle, someone who has been quite productive in the regular season, but has seemingly folded in the playoffs. Through three games in the opening round, Julius Randle is looking to change his playoffs narrative.
Julius Randle Continuing To Change His Playoffs Narrative
Timberwolves Go Up 2-1
The Timberwolves entered their opening round matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers as somewhat sizable underdogs. Through three games, that hasn’t mattered as Minnesota now owns a 2-1 series lead. On Friday night, the Timberwolves took Game 3 with a 116-104 victory in their first home outing of these playoffs. Up by just two after three quarters, Minnesota outscored the Lakers 30-20 in the final stanza to secure the win.
In each of the three playoff contests, Randle put together a solid performance. On Friday, the 30-year-old scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out four assists in 41 minutes. The 6-foot-9 power forward shot 6-13 from the field, 1-4 from deep, and 9-10 from the foul line.
This was the first of the three games in which Randle shot less than 50% from the field. In Game 1, he made six of his 11 field goal tries. The following game, he went 9-17 from the field. The 11-year veteran combined for 43 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists in those two games while connecting on six of 10 three-point tries.
While Randle hasn’t had a statistically dominant contest thus far in the playoffs, he has made a positive impact in all three. That mostly wasn’t the case during his tenure with the Knicks.
Julius Randle’s Failures In Playoffs With Knicks
In the first six seasons of his career, Randle’s squad did not reach the postseason. His first taste of playoff basketball came in 2021 with the Knicks. That 2020-21 regular season, Randle made his first All-Star team and was named the league’s Most Improved Player. With the Atlanta Hawks focusing so much on him at the offensive end, Randle’s first playoff experience wasn’t a good one. In the five game series loss, he shot a miserable 29.8% from the field.
New York missed the playoffs in 2022, but Randle and the Knicks were back in 2023. They advanced to the second round where they fell to the Miami Heat. In his 10 postseason performances that year, Randle shot a better (but still well below-average) 37.4% from the field. Randle had a shoulder injury that sidelined him for all of last year’s playoffs.
So entering this year’s playoffs, Randle had a career postseason field goal percentage of 34.4 and three-point percentage of 28.3. In his 15 playoff outings, he had three times as many games where he shot 30% or less (six) than games of at least 50% shooting (two).
With his new team, Randle is looking to buck his trend of poor postseason performances. The Timberwolves will look to go up 3-1 in their series on Sunday afternoon.
Photo credit: © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
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