Draymond Green Thinks LeBron James Is Going To Try To ‘Expose’ Julius Randle On Defense In Lakers-Timberwolves Series

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green thinks NBA legend LeBron James is going to try to “expose” Julius Randle on defense in the Los Angeles Lakers-Minnesota Timberwolves series. 

The Lakers are the third seed in the West, while the Timberwolves are the sixth seed. 

Los Angeles and Minnesota split their season series at 2-2 during the regular season. Game 1 is on Saturday. 

“The matchup for me is LeBron James versus Julius Randle,” Green said on his podcast with former NBA guard Baron Davis. “Because the way Bron plays today isn’t the way he played (before) with this new Laker team. So he’s going to put Julius in a lot of actions. I know early in the year, that was kind of the knock on the Timberwolves. Could they get Julius to guard? I think he picked it up on that side of the ball, but now Bron is going to try to expose Julius on the defensive end.”

James is a four-time champion and a four-time Finals MVP. He has the most postseason wins in NBA history. 

Meanwhile, Randle has only played in 15 playoff games in his career. He has struggled offensively, shooting 34.4% from the field and 28.3% from beyond the arc. 

James (40) is the oldest player in the NBA. However, he still put up elite numbers for the Lakers this season. The future Hall of Famer averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists while shooting 51.3% from the field, 37.6% from beyond the arc and 78.2% from the free-throw line. 

Randle isn’t the worst defender in the NBA, but he’s also never going to make an All-Defensive team. If Randle guards James in the Lakers-Timberwolves series, odds are that James will win the matchup most of the time.

The leading scorer in NBA history, James has never faced the Timberwolves in the playoffs during his career. That will change starting Saturday.