Welcome to Minnesota, Julius Randle.

In a game that may take some time to be named the “Best Game of the Year,” the Minnesota Timberwolves completely earned their first win of the season on the road in Sacramento; A game that came down to the final seconds and an off-balance shot from Keegan Murray ended WAY too close to utter destruction.

Moments earlier, with the game tied at 115 with 26 seconds left, Anthony Edwards lunged toward the basket on Domantas Sabonis and drew a foul that sent him to the free throw line. He shot the ensuing free throws that made the difference.

“It’s really important for him to be able to put pressure on the rim in those situations,” head coach Chris Finch said after the game.

While Edwards finished the game with 32 points and was the hero at the end, it was the welcoming party for Julius Randle that ultimately stole the action.

Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

The Randle Game

The Wolves were up to 12 points behind at times in this game. For about 2.5 quarters it looked like a pretty similar story to the first game in Los Angeles.

Poor defense, confused offense, stretches where Anthony Edwards maybe took a few too many random shots in a row, you know the drill.

While all of the above was true, there was one constant in the early stages that ensured Wolves stayed loose enough to eventually strike in the second half.

“(Julius) sets the tone,” Finch said. “He almost kept us in the game early on. He was decisive… shot the ball well.”

Julius Randle was shot out of a cannon compared to a laconic game, just one attempt away from jumping. He was incredibly decisive in post-play situations, kept the ball out of precarious positions and was incredibly willing to find open shooters in the corners when extra defensive help came his way.

He finished the game with four assists, but it could easily have been eight or nine.

It was the first sign of a crime that proved pervasive. An encouraging look back at an offensive flow that looked more like it did last season, able to start runs and get out of situations where the ball was stuck in places.

Another interesting part of the offense that wasn’t there before under Chris Finch is Randle’s determination and willingness to play out of the high post. Karl-Anthony Towns tried, but his post-ups and low-post touches ultimately didn’t prove to be very effective offensive attacks.

Randle’s openness and, frankly, his willingness to get smaller players to the basket quickly and kick them out once he’s brought in a second defender is a huge advantage for a team that wants that and has made more threes than before (they did tried at 50). Thursday evening).

“I didn’t think there were too many (threes) forced,” Finch added. “We thought we could get a lot of them if we made the right play.”

Translation? It doesn’t matter if they move up as long as it makes sense as the offense progresses and the gravity Randle provided was a big reason for the offense’s ultimate success, as was his outstanding ability to score.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Conley’s struggles continue

There’s nothing I hate more than watching Mike Conley fight, but the first two games were unfortunate case studies.

It may not be Saturday against a Toronto Raptors team that probably won’t finish well, but the Wolves will need Conley to hit a few more shots to start and sustain runs that had eluded them before the second round half Thursday. Conley’s continued struggles on Thursday made the margin of error heading into the road against Sacramento even smaller.

There isn’t a single person who doesn’t like him. I am absolutely convinced of that. Even after the team’s big first win, I want to stay positive.

But he started the year 3-16 on the field, posting a -22 against the Los Angeles Lakers (lowest in the starting lineup) and a -6 against Sacramento. He also had a little more trouble around the basket, dropping his trademark floaters off Rudy Gobert’s screens.

I don’t have much doubt that there will be a return to his average at some point, but over the last few games it’s become increasingly apparent that he’s setting the tone for the energy that goes into the ball in the attacking flow.

Finch returned to Conley in crunch time on Thursday, and it paid off as he led Edwards out of a quick double-team and took him to the basket with a quick pass that ultimately put the Wolves on top with two seconds left would bring.

Let’s hope there’s more of that and a few extra threes in the corner in the future.

Next

The Wolves host Toronto on Saturday for their first game of the regular season at Target Center, with a start date set for 7:00 a.m. CST.

The Raptors will be coming off a back-to-back after Friday night’s game against Denver, coming off a 30-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in which Chris Boucher and Gradey Dick led them in scoring.

Highlights