標籤: Randles

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 108-104 on Friday night. After the loss, head coach Chris Finch criticized Julius Randle for his effort, or lack thereof, on the glass.

According to Timberwolves reporter Dan Moore, speaking to media members on Saturday morning, Finch name-dropped Randle when he criticized his team for struggling to rebound the ball in recent games. Finch is clearly not impressed with the 31-year-old’s stellar efforts.

“We just have to get the rebound, and we can’t,” Finch said. “From the time the shot goes up, it takes a while… It’s been like that for a while. It’s not good enough… Julius has three defensive rebounds, which is not good enough. Just not good enough.”

Chris Finch on the Wolves’ recent rebounding issues and Julius Randle’s efforts on the glass being “not good enough.”

“We just have to get a rebound, and we can’t. There’s like a lag from the time the shot goes up… It’s been like that for a while. It’s not like that at all… pic.twitter.com/6CiWWjZjCM

– Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) 21 March 2026

Julius Randle finished Friday’s contest with 19 points (team high), five rebounds, four assists and one steal. He shot only 37.5% from the floor and failed to record a single three-point shot. Rudy Gobert (15 boards) and Ayo Dosunmu (10 boards) led the Timberwolves in rebounding against the Blazers.

Chris Finch, who is 56, might be right to call out the 12-year veteran for his bruising struggles. Randle is averaging a career-low 6.8 rebounds per contest this season. In fact, his rebounding numbers have decreased in every season since the 2022-23 campaign.

In 71 games played this year, Julius Randle is averaging 21.2 points, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He is shooting 48.4% from the field and 31.4% from beyond the three-point line. Randle will have another chance to return as a rebounder on Sunday when the Timberwolves take on the Boston Celtics.

On Sunday afternoon, the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered their fourth consecutive loss with a road loss against the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Although it did not immediately derail, the Timberwolves ultimately could not keep up with their 2025 Western Conference Finals opponents, and their freefall in the playoff standings continued.

One positive side of this game was that power forward Julius Randle was able to bounce back from a recent poor shooting slump, shooting an impressive 11-18 from the field after a recent game against the Golden State Warriors in which he had to sit on the bench.

Before the game on Sunday, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch explained how he planned to help Randle get back on track.

According to John Krawzinski of The Athletic, Finch said, “I’ve got to direct the ball more to the spots where he’s really good.” “I think we’ve gone away from that at times. I think that will definitely help him. Also, we’ll have to be a little more open-minded to each other. I think that will help, too.”

After the game, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, who spent a relatively quiet afternoon in Oklahoma City, talked about the silver lining of Randle’s bounce-back effort.

“It was a lot of fun to watch,” Edwards said. “We were just trying to get it to him as much as possible. He found his rhythm tonight, and hopefully that continues.”

Randall himself also talked about the relief he felt at being out of the recession.

“It definitely felt good to see the ball go in a little bit more today,” Randle said. “Just stay focused and consistent.”

If the Timberwolves want to continue their streak of deep playoff runs, and maybe even make it this far, Randle will have to step up his game.

The Timberwolves next play on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns.