The Los Angeles Lakers blitzed Anthony Edwards early and often in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Game 1 win on Saturday. As a result, the others had to step up for the Timberwolves, and they did.
It’s a group that includes Julius Randle, who went 6-for-11 for 16 points. He also chipped in five assists and five rebounds and handled LeBron duties at times defensively.
Still, don’t count Fox Sports’ Nick Wright as someone who thought Randle was fine. Wright had the exact opposite thoughts. He listed Randle as a reason for the Lakers to be optimistic moving forward in the series.
On his podcast, “What’s Wright with Nick Wright,” Wright gave the Wolves plenty of kudos for blowing the Lakers out on Saturday. Wright listed Minnesota’s fearlessness and plan to let Luka Doncic get his but take away everyone else as keys for the Wolves in the win.
In typical fashion, as a huge LeBron guy, Wright found plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Los Angeles.
Randle was among them.
Now, another small silver lining for the Lakers if you’re not writing them off after Game 1: ‘Playoff Julius Randle’ does appear to be here. He had some dumb fouls. He seemed to be in a weird machismo thing with LeBron. He had a half dozen turnovers. Yes, he hit his threes but not much else.
By most accounts, Randle was just fine on Saturday. Did he stand out as a star for Minnesota or take over the game? No. He didn’t need to.
Ideally, he’ll reduce his turnover numbers. Randle had seven, and the rest of the team had three combined. Still, considering some of Randle’s big playoff struggles during his tenure in New York, the version seen on Saturday did well for Minnesota.
Wright listing Randle as a reason why the Lakers should feel good about things moving forward is interesting. If Randle was so bad in Wright’s eyes in Game 1 and the Wolves still won by 22, what will it look like if he’s better moving along in the series?
Wright seems to think it’s more likely Randle flounders.
Time will tell, but it’s a stretch to suggest Randle was a huge issue in Game 1.
