Everyone moved out of Julius Randle’s way, as the Lakers forward sprinted his way up the court eager to show something he could not for eleven painful months.
The Lakers were nearing the end of a 30-minute full-court scrimmage on Wednesday here at Stan Sheriff Center when a fast-break opportunity emerged. Before the defense had any time to set up, Randle cut into the lane. His teammate, Lou Williams, made eye contact. Then, Williams lofted up an alley-oop that Randle threw down with force.
This only marked the second day of the Lakers’ training camp. But those days have meant everything to Randle, who played only 14 minutes in his NBA rookie year before fracturing his right tibia and sitting out the rest of the season. Even when he healed enough to play in Summer League two months ago, Randle averaged only 20.5 minutes per game and sat out in a back-to-back. This time, the Lakers have released Randle’s handcuffs.
“It’s been good,” Randle said, a smile forming as he said those words. “It’s been a year. It was amazing.”
It remains understandable Randle would feel that way. But it still sounded amusing. After all, Randle had just completed a 2 1/2 hour practice filled with conditioning drills, shooting exercises and scrimmaging. The Lakers would then have a two-hour evening session. Who would have thought Randle would relish such physical torture?
“Yeah, that’s true,” Randle said, “especially after last year.”
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