Julius Randle's Emergence Energizing the Los Angeles Lakers
LOS ANGELES — The 2015-16 Los Angeles Lakers finally notched their fourth victory in a desolate 17-win season on Dec. 15, cruising past the Milwaukee Bucks behind 22 points from All-Star Kobe Bryant.
It was one of not many highlights in what proved to be the worst season in Lakers franchise history.
"I want that to be a thing of the past," said third-year forward Julius Randle, looking back Tuesday night after the Lakers saw their three-game winning streak end following a 109-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Just seven games into the current campaign, the rejuvenated Lakers had already notched their fourth victory—a full 39 days ahead of last year's pace.
"We've been on the other side. We've lost three in a row. We've lost five in a row," Randle said, finding motivation in the recent history. "I've been on the other side and it sucks."
The 21-year-old Kentucky product has been a significant part of the team's early success; Randle is currently sixth in the league in field-goal percentage at 58.8 percent while averaging 14.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists. During last week's 117-97 blitzing of the Golden State Warriors, Randle gave the Lakers 20 points and 14 rebounds.
He believes the team is on the right path now, with new head coach Luke Walton giving the Lakers an unselfish plan of attack.
"You see it works. You start to see success playing the right way," Randle said. "You start to see success in that, and it's contagious."
The Lakers (4-4) have been a pleasant surprise in this early NBA season, defeating playoff-caliber franchises like the Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets and Warriors.
With a young roster, slip-ups are inevitable: The Mavericks (2-6) out-executed the Lakers, despite playing without former All-Stars Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams. It was the Lakers' first home loss in four tries.
"I don't think we had a killer instinct," Randle said. "We were too soft defensively."
The Lakers are currently 22nd in defensive efficiency, per Basketball-Reference.com; not elite, but certainly an improvement from last season's last-place finish.
Randle, who missed almost his entire rookie season after breaking his leg on opening night in 2014, has shown he can be more than just an offensive player. His block on a James Harden drive during the win over the Rockets helped seal the Lakers' opening-night victory.
"With my size and my speed and agility, I should have a tremendous impact on the game on the defensive end, being able to move around, switch on the guards," he said.
His coach agrees, using almost the same words.
"He can be an absolute elite defender in this league, with his size, strength and quickness," Walton said.
Last year, Randle's raw toolbox of offensive skills often worked to his disadvantage. He shot just 42.9 percent from the field, regularly driving into defenders for contested shots. While he is still left-hand dominant, he is finishing and making plays more with his right.
Randle's maturity was tested Sunday night, late in the Lakers' 119-108 victory over the Phoenix Suns. After tussling with veteran center Tyson Chandler, both players receiving technical fouls, Randle set up on the next play with the ball in his hands, on an isolation against Chandler.
The Staples Center crowd egged him on, expecting Randle to try to take the 7-footer off the dribble. Chandler's teammates geared up, ready to help.
With all eyes on the young forward, Randle chose instead to whip a pass to a wide-open Jordan Clarkson, who nailed a three-point shot to help the Lakers close out the Suns.
"Tyson was ready to take the challenge, but there was no challenge," Randle said. "I just didn't get caught up in the emotions of me and him going at it. I just read how they were playing it."
Teammate D'Angelo Russell recognizes Randle's growth as a teammate.
"You can really talk to him and give him your opinions and you can see him changing," Russell said. "Last year, I feel like he would have gone one-on-one, so he could feel that joy from scoring on the guy and getting a foul and keep the trash talking going. But he made the play and felt the joy, like he made the shot."
Playing with a sense of joy is one of Walton's mantras. So too is sharing the ball, making the right play and trusting your teammates.
That message is getting through to his players.
"I'm past that. I'm past getting caught up in the emotions, all that stuff, I just want to win," Randle said, smiling. "I'm just satisfied with the win."
Walton almost called a time out before Randle took on Chandler, but chose instead to trust him.
"I tell Julius all the time, I want him in attack mode," Walton said. "Because of the situation...I didn't want him going one-on-one. That's not what we want to do.
"The fact that he did what he did was such a winning play on his part, unselfish, it's everything we want—him using his brain, him being competitive, him fighting for the team and then making an unselfish play to a teammate."
Randle's growing maturity is a big part of why the Lakers have begun to turn the corner from the NBA basement to a .500 team.
Lakers Insider Notebook
Walton Hitting the Right Notes
After letting Byron Scott go this offseason, the Lakers hired the NBA's youngest coach.
At 36 years old, Walton's age has not been a liability but an asset, helping him relate to a roster full of first-, second- and third-year players.
"Coach has been on our side since he got here," Randle said. "He's done so much to change the culture of the team, so we've got his back all the way. Every time we're going out there, we're playing for each other, we're playing for him, it's a family thing."
Walton is also connecting with his veteran players.
"It's like playing for one of your teammates, just the way he speaks to guys," Lou Williams said. "It feels like playing with someone that you've played with before. We have so many young guys, if we learn to communicate with them...you can get them to run through a wall and I think he's tapped into that."
Play-calling is an important part of coaching, but unless the players buy into the coach's philosophy, the offensive and defensive systems are going to fail. Since the start of training camp, the young Lakers have been sold on Walton. Losing could have diminished the impact of his message, but they have been in every single game they've played so far.
The players deserve the credit for their performance, but then so does Walton for implementing a shift in the team's culture.
Mozgov, Deng Not Finishing Games
Managing egos is another important part of Walton's job. For now, veterans Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng have quietly accepted their roles.
Both are starting, but neither are a part of the team's closing rotation in the final minutes of games. Instead, players like Larry Nance Jr., Brandon Ingram, Randle, Clarkson and Russell are often getting the call.
"I think they understand that while we're trying to win right now...that we're also trying to develop young players," Walton said. "I haven't sat down and talked to them about that but I'm pretty sure, the professionals that they are, they understand that."
Walton has also often gone with the veteran Williams, whose ability to create shots for himself has generated vital baskets at key moments for the Lakers.
"That's the coach's decision," said Deng. "That's not for me to think about or go over. I mean, that's why he's the head coach. They have to make that decision."
Mozgov opened up a little more about his feelings on the topic.
"It doesn't matter, young or old or new, you as a player want to play. It's simple. It's always a challenge because you always want to play," Mozgov said. "I believe [in] the coach and what he's doing, I have no question for him."
Walton emphasized that he makes decisions game by game and quarter by quarter. He said he trusts both veterans to finish games, "100 percent."
"If one of the young guys or a few of the young [ones] are playing pretty badly that night, you don't let them close the games, because they haven't earned that right, if everyone else is battling and fighting," Walton said.
If it helps assuage any negative feelings, Deng ($18 million) and Mozgov ($16 million) are the Lakers' highest-paid players this season.
Minutes Crunch
The Lakers may not have a top-five NBA player on the roster, but the team has enough depth that Walton has struggled to find minutes for everyone.
"We have a lot of guys that are proven NBA players, and we have a lot of young guys that we believe are going to be very good NBA players," Walton said. "If there were guys that weren't playing as well, then we'd shorten the rotation."
The answer, thus far, is shorter minutes for everyone.
"We're not trying to keep minutes down by any means, we're trying to keep minutes up for multiple people," Walton said. "The way to do that is to have players playing in the 20- to 30-minute range and I think guys understand that it's not about them individually, it's about us as a team."
Guard Jose Calderon and Marcelo Huertas, rookie center Ivica Zubac and forwards Thomas Robinson and Metta World Peace have gotten scant minutes so far. Instead, the backup point guard duties have been split between Ingram and Russell.
Nance Missed
Nance was lost early in the game against the Suns after hitting his head on the floor, suffering a concussion. While working to clear the NBA's concussion protocol, Nance was missed in the loss to the Mavericks.
"Larry is a very intelligent basketball player, a phenomenal athlete, a great defender, makes reads, guards multiple positions. He plays the right way," Walton said. "He's a big part of the success we've had so far."
Nance and Randle have made an impressive combination at the end of games, enabling the Lakers to switch on all pick-and-rolls.
"It's a tremendous help where we can switch everything and keep guards in front of us, challenge shots, make it difficult on teams," Randle said.
With both listed at 6'9", Nance doesn't believe the lack of true height is an issue at all on the court.
"Golden State had a lineup where Draymond [Green] was their biggest guy [at 6'7"] and they've obviously been the best team in the league the last two years," Nance said. "We can both rebound well enough to where it's not an issue."
Nance's big dunk on David West and the Warriors may be the Lakers' highlight of the season. After the game, Nance couldn't help but notice the buzz on social media.
One especially caught his eye, a clip that featured his father, former Cleveland Cavalier/Phoenix Sun Larry Nance Sr., making a similar dunk, and then showed Jr. with his big play against Golden State.
"That was one of my favorite ones," said Nance Jr. "I love that, when they put clips back to back, so I can send it to him and say, 'See, I do get higher than you.'"
The Lakers play again Thursday, on the road against the Sacramento Kings. Nance's status is still unclear.
All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.
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