DALLAS – The Timberwolves spent Christmas away from home this year, and several of the team’s players had families fly down to celebrate Tuesday and Wednesday as the team played the Mavericks on a nationally televised game.
One Wolves player who didn’t have to fly too many people in was Dallas native Julius Randle, who spent the holidays in a familiar place. What’s become clear, in listening to coach Chris Finch and Randle speak after the Wolves’ 105-99 victory over the Mavericks, is Randle is still adjusting to an unfamiliar role with the Wolves — that of being a facilitator instead of an alpha scorer.
Randle played that role as well as he has all season in helping the Wolves build a 28-point lead, and they needed every bit of that cushion as Dallas cut the lead to two in the fourth quarter. But the Wolves, who had lost their previous three games, aren’t going for style points.
“It felt good, man,” Randle said. “It was pretty cool to be here for Christmas Day and we needed a win in the worst way. Happy we were able to get that. Probably the best Christmas present I could get.”
If the Wolves could freeze Randle’s stat line — 23 points on 13 shot attempts, 10 rebounds and eight assists — and carry that over the rest of the season, they would.
“He’s a facilitator and he’s been great at adjusting to being less of a primary scorer, more of a playmaker for us,” Finch said. “We need to make sure we keep him at the center of that more.”
Therein lie the fault lines with Randle’s tenure so far, and where the fanbase has had its frustrations with him and the team 29 games into the season. On this road trip, Finch has discussed multiple times how the Wolves (15-14) are still early in the process of evaluating this fit of former Knicks Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, who had 11 points off the bench Wednesday.
When fans see stretches of play like the three-game losing streak leading into this game, they understandably get upset, especially coming off a season in which the Wolves lost to these same Mavericks in the Western Conference finals. But the team is trying to take a longer view, regardless of the noise.
