The Los Angeles Lakers moved to 3-4 on the season Tuesday night, playing their best overall game as they blew the Detroit Pistons out, 113-93.
It was a very balanced effort for the Lakers, as they had seven players score in double figures with Julius Randle leading the team with 17 points off the bench to go along with seven rebounds and three assists in just 17 minutes.
After a rough start to the season, Randle has really started proving his worth the last few games, accepting his role off the bench. He has actually been playing as the team’s backup center the last few games, and head coach Luke Walton commented on what has made him successful in that role.
“He has been really good ever since we started playing him in that backup five role,” Walton said in his postgame press conference.
“He has just been playing with great energy. Defensively, he is switching onto point guards and containing and staying in front. He can change games and he did that tonight with the way he came in and played with that second unit in the first half. He had a very solid night for us again and he has done that the last three out of four games, in my opinion.”
Even Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy was complimentary of Randle after Tuesday night’s game, saying that he and Kyle Kuzma took his team apart.
With Randle coming off the bench, it gives him an opportunity to play with extremely high energy as he is playing in shorter spurts, and he has the ability to dominate against other team’s second unit players as often times he is the best player on the floor when he is in.
The key has been Randle accepting his role though, as at the beginning of the season he was unhappy that he wasn’t in the starting lineup. So credit to him for being willing to come off the bench, and look for him to continue to play at the high level he has in the last few games.
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