Julius Randle (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Julius Randle knows that in order for the Minnesota Timberwolves to win the NBA Finals for the first time, they’ll have to get through the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder are the defending NBA champions, having defeated the Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference Finals en route to winning the championship. They’re led by reigning MVP Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and are off to an NBA-record start of 24-2.
That’s despite the early-season absences of Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein due to injuries. Those are two key starters that have missed games and the Thunder haven’t missed a beat – they’re beating teams by an average margin of 17.4 points per game.
For context, Oklahoma City defeated teams by an average margin of 12.9 points per game last season, setting an NBA record. They would shatter that record if the season ended today.
“It’s very small, subtle details, subtle little plays that can win you a game or lose you a game,” said Randle in a one-on-one interview with RG about what it takes to win in the playoffs. “It’s not scoring 30 or 40 (points) or 15 assists, it’s not really about the stats. It’s just the little things, like offensive rebounds, the hustle plays, the team who gets the most loose balls in the game —like the 50-50, balls we call them – are the team who turns over the ball less, or who wins the possession battle, or the rebounds.”
Randle gives major credit to the Thunder, who excelled in that category in the playoffs and continue to do so now.
“It’s the small details of the game, I’m the type of person that likes to learn from experience and learn from people,” said Randle. “OKC was a great example of that, a team who understood the importance of possessions or getting every single loose ball, or understood the importance of being connected on the defensive end and making the right rotations and just playing hard like they did. As great of players as they have in Shai and Jalen Williams and all those guys, they understood the importance of the little things. The game within the game we call it.”
Respect Where It’s Due
Another key to the Thunder’s winning ways? Randle says they’re a “great” third-quarter team. Oklahoma City ranks second in points per game in the third (32.5), only second to the Denver Nuggets.
“They’re a great third-quarter team,” said Randle of the Thunder.
“Like going on 12-to-2 runs that break open the game, and it makes it hard to come back. You can’t do things where you beat yourself versus them, obviously. I think the last thing, probably the most important thing, is you gotta play hard, just as hard, or harder than them. They go after every single loose ball, they fight for every single possession.
The reason why they’ve had guys that have not played this year that have been out, and they can plug and play because they have a formula and have a blueprint, they have a culture that everybody kind falls in line with,” said Randle. “No matter who’s out there on the court, they all play the same way and play together that way.”
The 31-year-old veteran says that a committed approach and consistency are what make the Thunder so hard to beat. The Thunder defeated the Timberwolves, 113-105, in their lone matchup of the season so far on Nov. 26. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points in the win and is averaging a league-leading 32.7 points per game.
The Timberwolves have recently gotten off to a hot stretch. After starting the season 10-8, they’ve won seven of their past eight games. They defeated the Golden State Warriors, 127-120, in Stephen Curry’s return from injury at Chase Center on Friday night. Minny followed that up with a victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
“I don’t even know if it’s in so many different ways, they just are consistent with who they are,” said Randle. “They all buy into that, what kind of team they are and what they like to do, what makes them successful. But they fight and play hard every single possession.”