On Wednesday evening, the Minnesota Timberwolves picked up their second straight win by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in blowout fashion. This was an epic game from power forward Julius Randle, who scored 41 points in the victory on an efficient shooting night from the field.
Recently, the NBA All-Star reserves were announced, and although Anthony Edwards made the cut to represent Minnesota, Randle did not, and he was also not named among the injury replacements for the various stars who have since bowed out of the contest.
After the game against the Blazers, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch spoke on how that may have factored into Randle's epic performance.
“A conversation. We had a couple good chats in the last week. Everything that swirls around this time this of the year, whether it be All-Star nominations — I know he was disappointed that he wasn't named an All Star. I think he took this game quite personally in that regard,” said Finch, per Dane Moore on X, formerly Twitter.
Some fans might take Finch's “took that personally” quip as a reference to a viral meme with NBA legend Michael Jordan, who seemed to take a lot of things personally, as evidenced by 2020's ESPN “The Last Dance” documentary, to which he would respond by letting his play on the court do the talking.
The Timberwolves opted to bring Randle back on a big contract extension this past summer, and thus far, the move has paid dividends, as the former New York Knicks power forward's chemistry with Edwards and his other Minnesota teammates has seemed to increase in their second year together.
The Timberwolves will now be able to kick back and relax for over a week for the All-Star break, before they next hit the floor next Friday night at home against Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks.
