When you are cornered, it is also the time when you break out of your cocoon and become a butterfly

Who was the biggest counterattack in the 24-25 season, I would say Julius Randle.

When the Knicks traded him and DiVincenzo to Towns last offseason, some voices would even say that DiVincenzo was the guy the Timberwolves wanted, and that Randle was just an add-on to match the salary.

At that time, Randall was indeed at a low point in his career. His career has grown upwards and downwards repeatedly, and he has never proven himself in the playoffs, and has been labeled as an inefficient ball bully. And the Knicks had just gone through a successful playoff without him, which ended Randle's Knicks career.

My initial view of Randle's prospects with the Timberwolves was (and probably a lot of people's opinion) that Randle would only stay here symbolically for one season as a free agent and then leave to free the Timberwolves' salary, which is the biggest reason the Timberwolves traded Towns.

Randle's difficult run-in with the Timberwolves at the start of the season also seems to be proving it. Randle and Towns are two completely different interior players, and Randle is a ball-handler, which is bound to conflict with Edwards' ball-handling attributes, and how to reconcile the conflict between the two is Fincher's job.

I remember one round very well, when the Timberwolves played the Raptors last November, Gobert was already in the basket with Barnes behind him, and Randle was standing in front of Bolt. Gobert reached high for the ball, and Randle was only looking at how to hit Bolt's misalignment.

Gobert was still asking for the ball, and Randle waved his hand to signal Gobert to stop struggling and go out of the three-second zone. Gobert frustrated to accept the fact that Randle wouldn't pass the ball to him, slowly walked out of the three-second zone, but was whistled for attacking for three seconds because he went too slowly, and the whole team fell into frustration after a losing round.

That period was also the lowest point of the Timberwolves' season, with a four-game losing streak after losing to the Raptors. After 18 games in the season, the Timberwolves have a record of only 8 wins and 10 losses, and at the same time, Towns has been very good with the Knicks, which puts a lot of pressure on the Timberwolves and Randle.

At a low point, Edwards said: "I'm trying to get better at that and figure out what to say to get everyone moving towards the same goal, because everybody thinks differently right now. ”

The Timberwolves players held a small meeting to bring the team together, and the effect of the meeting was significant. After a four-game losing streak, the Timberwolves have won six of their next seven games. In all six wins, the Timberwolves have suppressed opponents to score under 100 points.

But then, the Knicks' 133-107 win over them seemed to put everything back to square one, and Towns scored 32 points and 20 rebounds in that game, and the Timberwolves began another three-game losing streak. "Sometimes we let the offense affect the defense, we can't do that, we're a defensive team," Huazi said. ”

When you stand on the stage of the Western Conference finals and look back, the Timberwolves' regular season is full of these twists and turns, and ironically, the twists and turns that really made the Timberwolves reborn were Randle's injuries.

Randle was sidelined with a groin injury throughout February, and the team finished with a 5-8 record in the 13 games he rested. Randle spent a month watching from the sidelines, jumping out of the game to see the characteristics of his teammates and thinking about ways to fit in with the team.

Objectively speaking, this season has been extremely difficult for Randle. He averaged 18.7 points on 13.6 shots per game during the regular season, both of which were new lows since leaving the Lakers. On a new team, Randle will need to sacrifice possession while completing the playmaking tasks given to him by his coach.

After returning from injury, Randle completely locked his position as a point forward. He will hold the ball, but he will not be greedy for shots; He's willing to act as a green leaf, but he's also able to finish fights when he needs him. His strong body allows him to address any misalignments, just as he did with the Lakers in the first round.

After Randle's comeback, the Timberwolves ended the regular season with a 17-4 record, slaughtered the play-in encirclement from the sea of knives in the West, and entered the playoffs as sixth in the West. Counting the playoff record, Randle has only lost six games so far after returning from injury.

After a season of running-in, he and Edwards, the ball-holding duo, also brought huge trouble to the Warriors in the second round, and the Warriors couldn't choke both of them at the same time, someone would always be missed, and then punish the Warriors' defense.

In the first round against the Lakers, Randle averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, shooting 48.1% from the field. In the second round against the Warriors, but Randle played a playoff masterpiece.

With the Knicks next door also reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, that trade has now become a win-win situation, thanks of course, to Randle's coming from behind, saving the Timberwolves' entire season and his career.

Sometimes being in a dead end at the same time also means that every road is a way of life, and breaking out of the cocoon into a butterfly often happens at this time. The so-called salvation is a reconciliation with oneself when there is no way out.