While the Thunder shone brighter than ever, the Timberwolves have a tough road ahead. With even Anthony Edwards being reduced to 16 points, Game 4 was a show of OKC’s defense. Edwards said, “I just didn’t get enough chances to shoot the ball. It was what they were doing, not what I didn’t do.” But that was not the worst of it; the Thunder have caught wind of the fact that Julius Randle struggles with one thing: dribbling. And they are using it to their full advantage.

Randle could not get a single ball on the floor without the Thunder rattling him. After sitting through two fourth quarters in a row, Finch benched him for the third time. “I don’t think I struggled or he struggled,” Edwards said. “They just had a good game plan. They were taking us off the ball.” Though Edwards seems a little unsure of their situation, with only five points to his name, Randle definitely struggled.

And while fans may have been frustrated, it did not stop his loved ones from cheering for him any less. Kendra Randle, with their two 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, Kyden and Jayce, was seen attending the event. But that is not all, as they were also joined by John Calipari, the basketball coach, who Minnesota hosted on the night.

Julius Randle was one of many names that were coached by Calipari. So, when Kendra reposted a Calipari post from Twitter with her and her kids, it was definitely heartwarming. On her Instagram story, Mrs. Randle captioned the post “We love you coach!” And we could not agree more, Calipari is definitely one of the greatest of all times.

Although we wish the night had also ended on a high note for the All-Star, apart from him seeing his old coach, it did not. Coach Finch immediately needs to come up with a better strategy than benching Randle for Minnesota because they cannot afford another underwhelming game.

Will the Minnesota bench finally play a cohesive game?

Game 4 for the Timberwolves just felt like a recap for everything that went wrong in the first game. With Minnesota’s No.1 and No.2 performing their worst, Coach Finch was on the edge. The Wolves coach said about Edwards, “First half, I thought he lagged behind a little bit too much; he needed to get out in front so that we could stretch the floor and screen for him a bit.” While Edwards did lag, but it is also true, he did not have scoring opportunities.

via Imago

Kendric Perkins criticised Finch for blaming Edwards for the loss, rather than addressing the problems around their defence. And with a lack of steals and blocks, the Thunder took over the paint. Perkins told KP on Get UP ESPN, “They made Anthony Edwards a decision maker. That’s why Donte had wide-open threes in the corner. Jaden McDaniels was wide open. Mike Conley, he made the right play. They just couldn’t get stops. When you score 126 points, it’s not about scoring no more. They couldn’t slow down the Oklahoma City Thunder.”

Perkins also reprimanded Finch for not double-marking SGA, who made 12 of his 14 free throws and had 19 points in the first half itself. Whether the Wolves coach is to blame for their Game 4 loss is still up for debate, but OKC’s dominance on the night cannot be ignored.