Julius Randle Is Getting In People's Heads

Have you been watching any Lakers games this year? Perhaps you haven’t given them much thought ever since Kobe Bryant finally fucked off and took all the schadenfreude-driven reasons to watch the Lakers with him. Well guess what, the Lakers are kind of fun now!

The team is 5-4 and led by some legitimately exciting young players who no longer have to worry about grouchy old Byron Scott obstructing their development. One player who has been particularly fun is second-year forward Julius Randle, who is scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds per game while also getting into the heads of much more accomplished players.

After last night’s win over the Kings, Randle found himself getting a stern talking to from DeMarcus Cousins:

Neither player had much to say about the interaction after the game. “Just some friendly UK love,” said Cousins. “Just talking, heat of the game, the emotions,” added Randle.

This is the second time this week Randle has gotten on the nerves of a veteran opponent. On Sunday night against the Suns, Randle angered Tyson Chandler by reacting passionately to a defensive stop. The two spent most of the next possession bumping each other and talking shit, and the whole thing ended with Randle ostentatiously isolating Chandler on the wing and setting up a three pointer. The whole sequence felt like watching an old man getting his shoelaces tied together by the neighborhood scamp:

Randle missed his entire rookie year after breaking his leg in the first game of the season, and he spent last season muddling through the Kobe Bryant Retirement Tour. He’s front and center now, though, and proving that he is not only a good player, but an exciting, competitive personality. That’s good news, because the NBA is always more fun when there are young players willing to talk some shit and have some fun.