The Minnesota Timberwolves dropped to 43-28 on the season following a disappointing 108-104 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center on Friday. Rebounding was once again a problem for the Timberwolves on the night, and head coach Chris Finch called out Julius Randle in his postgame press conference for his lack of effort on the glass.
“They had 18 offensive rebounds,” Finch said. “I mean, they started the game with three or four in the first couple of possessions. They had seven second-chance points by the first timeout. And then all we got to do is we’re up 104-103, and we just got to get a rebound, and we can’t.
“There’s like a lag time from the time that the shot goes and we take a breath, and we look up, and then they’re flying around, and we delayed in our reactions,” Finch continued. “And it’s been that way for a while. I mean, it’s just not good enough. We knew our guards needed to rebound, but I mean, Ayo [Dosunmu] did a good job on defensive glass. Rudy [Gobert] did a good job, but after that, we got to have more rebounding.
“Julius has three defensive rebounds,” Finch added. “That’s not good enough. It’s just not good enough.”
Randle had 19 points (6-16 FG), five rebounds, four assists, and one steal in 37 minutes against the Trail Blazers. The 31-year-old impressed offensively in the fourth quarter with 10 points, but didn’t grab a single rebound.
This performance also came on the back of Randle grabbing one rebound in Wednesday’s 147-111 win over the Utah Jazz. It is understandable then that Finch felt the need to call out the three-time All-Star, but it was a surprise that he did it. He had almost always opted against criticizing Randle publicly in the past. Perhaps those concern levels are rising.
The Timberwolves allowed the Trail Blazers to haul in 18 offensive rebounds here. The visitors turned those into 22 second-chance points, and that was a big reason why they won.
Finch brought up the Timberwolves failing to get a defensive rebound when they led 104-103, and that was a critical sequence in the final minute. The Trail Blazers managed to secure two offensive rebounds on that possession, and Jerami Grant would eventually hit a three-pointer to give them a 106-104 lead with 21.3 seconds remaining.
The Timberwolves did come close to tying things up on the next possession, but Donte DiVincenzo missed a layup, and Rudy Gobert then failed to tip it in twice. Grant would secure the rebound for the Trail Blazers and then get fouled. He made both his free throws to put the game beyond reach.
This loss was the Timberwolves’ first since Anthony Edwards was ruled out with right knee inflammation on Tuesday. They had won two in a row without Edwards, but those games were against the lowly Jazz and a Phoenix Suns team that has now lost five in a row.
The Timberwolves have tougher tests coming up, like their next game against the mighty Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. They’re going to need Randle to be at his best in Edwards’ absence if they are to get the win. He has done well from a scoring standpoint, but those rebounding numbers need to go up as well.
