The Los Angeles Lakers managed to get back into the win column with a solid victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. At the forefront once again for the Lakers was power forward Julius Randle.

Needless to say, Randle has had a knack for playing well against Dallas throughout the 2017-18 NBA season. According to Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints, it has not gone unnoticed by head coach Rick Carlisle:

“The guy is from Plano. I guess he takes it personal or something against a team from Dallas. He’s a good player & he’s taken a quantum leap this year with his overall play. I’m impressed.”

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Randle registered 20 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists in the 103-93 win over the Mavs. Furthermore, he solidified Carlisle's comments by registering at least 20 points in three out of their four meeting this year.

It is easy to see why Lakers fans would still take his compliments about Randle with a grain of salt. There have been rumors swirling all season about the promising, young forward returning to his home state of Texas to play for Dallas. That said, his continuous praise may be indicative of his team's pursuit of Randle's services in the offseason which raises questions as to whether or not he may be flirting with the tampering line.

Still, it is true that Randle has made tremendous strides this season as a focal point in the Lakers offense. As a result, there could be plenty of suitors willing to pay top dollar for his services in the summer. Meanwhile, there is still plenty of debate in Los Angeles about how they want to approach their rebuild moving forward which may or may not include Randle in the long-term plans.