Mizutani: If Julius Randle doesn’t figure it out, the Timberwolves are in trouble

There was a rather innocuous sequence in the early stages of Game 3 between the Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs on Friday night at Target Center.

It was a mishap masked by the Timberwolves’ 0-for-12 shooting from the floor. The Wolves were looking more like some washed up hoopers struggling at the local Lifetime Fitness rather than a group trying to reach the Western Conference Finals for the third straight season.

In hindsight, though, Julius Randle turning down a potential drive to the rim and instead lobbing a grenade to Rudy Gobert near the end of the shot clock was foreshadowing for what ended up being a putrid performance on the national stage.

It wouldn’t be accurate to say Randle struggled. That wouldn’t be harsh enough criticism. He was a disaster as the Timberwolves suffered a 115-108 loss to the Spurs.

It was the continuation of Randle devolving at the worst possible time for the Timberwolves, who now face a 2-1 deficit in the series. After proudly playing the role of the bully in the Game 1 win, he took a noticeable step back in the Game 2 loss, then looked completely out of sorts Friday.

He lacked confidence while trying to break the paint against Victor Wembanyama.The massive frame and comically long wingspan of Wembanyama seemed to intimidate Randle, who didn’t play with any sort of conviction when the ball was in his hands. He spent most possessions vacillating between deferring to his teammates and forcing his own shot.

Not ideal considering Randle has proven to be at his best when he’s playing with swagger and using his size and strength to his advantage.

The most recent effort from Randle is proof positive of what happens when he loses that edge. He didn’t play with any flow on the offensive end, finishing with 12 points while shooting an abysmal 3 of 12 from the floor. He wasn’t much better on the defensive end, lacking both the consistency and intensity required to help string together stops.

He also got himself into foul trouble that, in turn, forced Chris Finch to switch up his rotation and go away from a small ball lineup that was having some success.

It’s a shame that Randle was so bad on a night Anthony Edwards was so good. He shook off a lingering knee injury and went for 32 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. That probably would’ve been enough for the Timberwolves to walk away with a win had they gotten anything from Randle.