SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In a jubilant Minnesota Timberwolves locker room, Anthony Edwards smiled widely and hooted and hollered about his growing maturity that helped seal a hard-fought 117-115 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Mike Conley went around the room dapping his teammates, shimmying in front of Naz Reid and breathing encouragement into the rest of the group. Rudy Gobert plopped down in the chair in front of his locker after bobbing his head in recognition of the groove the Wolves found on defense in the second half.
And then there was Julius Randle, the new guy still trying to find his way around. He sat in the corner and quietly took it all in. On a well-connected team so comfortable with one another that the laughs, jokes and trash talk come easily, they understand that Randle’s personality is set at a much lower volume. That may be why so many of them did the talking for him after Randle carried the offense in the first half.
“Ohhhhh my God,” Edwards crowed to sideline reporter Lea B. Olsen after the game. “We told him this morning, don’t fit around us, we’re going to fit around you. He showed us today.”
Randle finished with 33 points, five rebounds and four assists. He made 13 of 17 shots, including going 5 of 6 from 3-point range, and the aggression he played with looked much closer to the three-time All-Star he was in New York and not the tentative, uncertain player he was in his Minnesota debut against the Lakers.
After that game, coach Chris Finch and so many of his teammates implored Randle to not be bashful. This is a new team, a new system and Randle did not want to come in and step on anyone’s toes. But that’s exactly what the Timberwolves need him to do. He is a bully baller, the kind of one-man wrecking crew that can create so much offense for himself and his teammates.
On a team that is in the very early stages of finding a new identity after trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks for Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, Randle’s aggressiveness can help drag them through the mud until they find the highway.
They were a muddled, turnover-prone mess in the opener against the Lakers and in the first half against the Kings, when they turned the ball over 10 times. While his teammates were clanking away at a 34 percent clip, Randle made 8 of 10 shots, including four 3s, to keep the Timberwolves in striking distance at the break.
😮💨😮💨😮💨 pic.twitter.com/aVNnlBJbfE
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 25, 2024
“Killing it,” said Naz Reid, who had 19 points and 13 rebounds in front of the rabid fan base that protested loudly last season when he won NBA Sixth Man of the Year over Sacramento’s Malik Monk. “He’s just getting acclimated. It’s fun to see, too. He just came from a predicament where he didn’t know what was going on. We’re all happy for him, excited for him. We’re all happy for him to be here.”
That sentiment was palpable throughout the team on Thursday night. Randle may have plenty of individual accolades in his career, but he knows that he is coming in to replace a player who was with the Wolves for nine seasons with a presence that resonated on the court and off. He also knows that this is Edwards’ team and he is here to make his life easier.
Randle said he needed to hear Finch and his teammates encourage him to be more assertive.
“It’s not just coming from coach, obviously, but a lot of people just telling me to be myself. Just be who I am,” Randle said. “They trust me to make the right plays.”
As Randle took control of the offense, things started to open up for Edwards. The Kings were focused on the star guard in the first half, trying to keep him from driving to the rim and limit his opportunities. Edwards was just 3 of 9 for nine points with seven of those shot attempts coming from 3. Getting gashed by the big man made them think twice in the second half, and that’s all Edwards needed.
SHEEEESH 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/xfieXPkaNa
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 25, 2024
Edwards scored 23 of his 32 points after halftime, including 13 in the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 115, Edwards got a chance to show how much his game has grown in his fifth season. The Kings sent a double-team at him to get the ball out of his hands, and Edwards lobbed it to Mike Conley to get Sacramento to scramble. Conley gave the ball right back as the double broke.
“He better give it back,” Edwards cracked. “I’ll put him in a choke hold.”
In his younger days, Edwards may have settled for a stepback 3-pointer in that situation. But getting off the ball quickly and then getting it back from Conley put him one-on-one against Keegan Murray, and Edwards put his head down and barreled right to the rim. He drew a foul and knocked down both free throws for the winning margin, which stood when Murray’s desperation 3 at the buzzer just rimmed out.
“Maybe a year ago I would’ve probably tried to go left and take a stepback jumper,” Edwards said. “But you are supposed to mature as you get older. I made a mature play, made Finch happy by getting to the rim.”
The Timberwolves shot 50 3s in the game and made 20 of them. And after the defense was nowhere to be found for the first six and a half quarters of the season, they finally started to lock in late in the third quarter, when an 11-0 run helped them push in front. The Kings shot 49 percent in the first three quarters and only 38 percent in the fourth.
Edwards and Randle combined for 65 points, 10 3s and eight assists, and they’re not even in sync yet. Randle handled the first half while the offense was stagnant and Edwards took over in the second half when the Wolves started to find more of a rhythm. But it did offer a glimpse of what both players are capable of when they feed off of each other.
Randle will be relied upon to get others involved, but one thing the Timberwolves need from him is his ability just to get a bucket when nothing else is working. They did not have enough of that in their Western Conference finals loss to Dallas. It happens to be one of Randle’s best qualities.
“That’s why he’s here,” Edwards said. “He did a tremendous job of that. We want him to keep doing that. Don’t think about passing nobody the ball. Shoot it.”
That’s what Randle needs to hear. He needs that support and encouragement in a new environment. He needs to know it’s OK to take over when the situation warrants it.
“Ant needs that from me because the defense is loading up on him,” Randle said. “So he needs me to be aggressive out there to take pressure off him as well. I felt that and everything just kind of came in the flow of the offense.”
That approach allowed the Timberwolves to be in a position for Edwards to grab the game down the stretch. Were it not for Randle’s output in the first half, a blistering Kings offense could have run away with the game. And the Wolves made sure Randle knew how much he was appreciated in his new home.
“He was phenomenal,” Finch said. “It set the tone, kept us in the game early, almost all by himself. That lineup in particular right now is kind of struggling to find a great rhythm. He was decisive. He shot the ball well, created a ton of shots for his teammates, played with great physicality.”
(Photo of Julius Randle: Rocky Widner / NBAE via Getty Images)
