Julius Randle’s Encore Performance Cemented How Vital He Has Become To the Wolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves had a different energy level as they hit the court for warmups ahead of Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Anthony Edwards was dancing to Cheryl Lynn’s 1983 hit Encore, which was playing through the Target Center speakers. He then did a pull-up on the rim before firing up some shots from the center-court logo. Jaylen Clark was also dancing, as was Julius Randle. The entire team was smiling.

Usually, the Wolves come out loose for their warmups, but they seemed in an extra good mood.

You could never tell that they had dropped back-to-back winnable games. Last Monday, the Indiana Pacers didn’t have four of five starters and beat the Wolves 132-130 in overtime to snap their eight-game winning streak. On Wednesday, the Pelicans were down three of five starters and beat Minnesota 119-115 in another game where the Wolves failed to handle business against a sub-.500 or injured team.

“The energy is off; it’s funky. We’re not playing with that same spirit or the same confidence,” Randle told the media after Wednesday’s loss. “We’ve got to find a way to get our swag back and just go out and dominate like we’ve been.”

After the Timberwolves’ joy-filled warmups on Friday, they routed the Pelicans 134-93 in their largest win of the season. The energy was far from funky. Instead, the Wolves immediately snapped back into the team they were during their eight-game winning streak. Randle’s encore performance was the driving force behind Minnesota’s return to form.

Finch set the vibe before tip-off Friday night when the Wolves found out he was starting Joe Ingles. His family lives in Orlando — where Ingles played last season — but traveled up to Minnesota last week, and Finch wanted to ensure they could see Ingles play. Ingles’ son, Jacob, is autistic. Usually, he gets overstimulated at NBA games and wants to leave early. However, he wanted to stay for the entire game in Minnesota’s 128-102 win over the Utah Jazz last Sunday. When Finch heard the good news, he and his coaching staff decided to not only play Ingles on Friday but start him so Jacob and the rest of Joe’s family could see him play.

Less than two minutes after tip-off, Ingles passed to Randle in the corner. Randle crossed over to his left and took Kelly Olynyk to the hoop for a left-handed and-one finish.

The crowd roared as Randle bounced his shoulders and flexed toward them. With the and-one, Julius immediately translated the good vibes the Wolves had during warmups into the game and ignited the high-energy victory that was fourth coming.

“It was extremely important for me just to bring energy,” Randle told FanDuel Sports North’s Katie Storm postgame. “When I bring energy, the guys feed off of it, so that’s all I wanted to do. Whether it’s the offensive rebounds, setting screens, running the floor, or whatever it is. Just bring energy and do whatever it takes to get the win.”

Randle preached that team-first approach during Minnesota’s eight-game winning streak, which he helped spark. Randle was committed to playing fast, getting his teammates involved, making large and small effort plays, and doing whatever the team needed of him any given night.

However, something was different during Minnesota’s two-game skid last week.

The Pacers and Pelicans outscored Minnesota by a combined 26 points during Randle’s 68 minutes of action. There wasn’t the same emphasis on ball movement with Randle on the court. He was not working as quickly with the ball in his hands, either. Subsequently, he had far less of a positive impact on the offense, playing like he did early in the season.

Randle also didn’t get as many early touches, such as bringing the ball up the floor and acting as the point guard. Finch has repeatedly said that getting Randle involved early and playing through him at the top of the floor positively affects the Wolves offensively.

In Minnesota’s loss to the Pelicans, Randle had arguably his worst performance since returning from his injury. He scored 17 points on 7 of 10 from the floor. However, Randle only attempted two free throws, dished out three assists, and pulled in three rebounds. He also turned it over six times, his second-most turnovers in a game this season.

After the loss, Randle said he had to be better.

“I am always going to take accountability for myself and what I can do better,” Randle said after Minnesota’s loss to the Pelicans. “Six turnovers is way too many for me. I have to do better on the glass. I got to find a way to rebound better and just continue to play better defense.”

Randle was not quarterbacking Minnesota’s offense during the skid as he had been during the winning streak. Ahead of Friday’s game, Finch explained that there were two reasons.

“When you look at the true assist opportunities, he had plenty, meaning we are missing the shots that guys had been hitting,” said Finch. “The speed at which he was moving the ball early when we were playing through him at the top of the floor, we’ve got to get back to that a little bit more. I think that kind of accelerates the ball movement.”

Letting the offense flow through Randle has proved valuable, and the Wolves must continue to prioritize that. But it will not always happen. He will not always record ten assists and act as the floor general on most possessions. Still, Randle’s energy level can’t waver.

On Friday, Randle was back to his energetic self, dropping a team-high 20 points, pulling in six rebounds (four of which were offensive), and dishing out five assists on 7 of 11 from the floor, 2 of 5 from deep, and 4 of 4 from the free throw line. More importantly, Randle only committed two turnovers, and the Wolves outscored New Orleans by 13 points during his 25 minutes.

Maybe the groovy nature of Cheryl Lynn’s 1983 hit had Randle going for an encore performance, returning to the player he was during Minnesota’s winning streak. Perhaps it was the vibe reset that Finch starting Ingles cast upon the team. Or maybe it was because the Wolves viewed the game as a must-win after those two inexcusable losses and with how close the standings were.

Regardless, Randle’s encore further cemented how vital he is to Minnesota’s success. When he has an off night, the Wolves don’t run their offensive through him as much, or he does not have adequate energy levels, the team feels it negatively – more so than when other players have off nights.

With ten games left, Randle is bound to have a few clunkers, but he showed during Minnesota’s winning streak that his team-first, highly impactful play is sustainable over a long stretch. Suppose Randle brings the same level of groovy energy into each game. That will set the Wolves up for success to finish the regular season strong and perhaps to put together an encore to their playoff run last year, regardless of the numbers Randle records in the box score.