The Minnesota Timberwolves fell 108-104 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. After the loss, head coach Chris Finch went off on Julius Randle for his effort, or lack thereof, on the glass.
While talking with media members on Saturday morning, Finch name-dropped Randle when he criticized his team for struggling to rebound the ball in recent games, according to Timberwolves reporter Dane Moore. Finch is clearly not impressed with the 31-year-old's rebounding efforts.
“We just gotta get a rebound, and we can't,” said Finch. “There's like a lag time from the time that the shot goes up… It's been that way for a while. It's just not good enough… Julius has three defensive rebounds, that's not good enough. Just not good enough.”
Here's Chris Finch on the Wolves' rebounding issues of late and Julius Randle's effort on the glass "not being good enough".
"We just gotta get a rebound, and we can't. There's like a lag time from the time that the shot goes up… It's been that way for a while. It's just not… pic.twitter.com/6CiWWjZjCM
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) March 21, 2026
Julius Randle ended Friday's contest with 19 points (team high), five rebounds, four assists, and one steal. He also shot just 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 years old, might be right to call out the 12-year veteran for his rebounding struggles. Randle is averaging a career low of 6.8 rebounds per contest this season. In fact, his rebounding numbers have gone down every season since the 2022-23 campaign.
Through 71 games played this year, Julius Randle is also averaging 21.2 points, 5.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He's shooting 48.4% from the field and 31.4% from beyond the three-point line. Randle will have another opportunity to bounce back as a rebounder on Sunday when the Timberwolves take on the Boston Celtics.
