No Edwards, no problem for now.

Before the crucial positioning battle against the Suns, the Timberwolves received bad news: their top star Edwards will be sidelined for at least 1-2 weeks due to inflammation in his right knee. At a critical moment in the playoff ranking race, the prolonged absence of the team's leading star undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the Timberwolves.

Surprisingly, even without Edwards, the Timberwolves still defeated the seventh-ranked Suns in the West today. After winning this key positioning battle, they widened the gap with the Suns and temporarily don't have to worry about falling into the play-in tournament zone.

Interestingly, Dillon previously said in an interview: "If we meet the Timberwolves in the playoffs, they'll have trouble; we've already handled them this year." Today, the Timberwolves thoroughly disproved that statement.

The top contributor to this victory was Jalen Green, whose shooting efficiency of 3 out of 17 repeatedly rewarded the Timberwolves' defensive strategy. Just a couple days ago, it was said that March's Green was unstoppable, but unexpectedly, these two games quickly brought him back to his average. The unpredictable nature of his performance remains the biggest label on Jalen Green.

Of course, the real reason the Timberwolves won was Randle finally regaining his form. Today he shot 10 out of 17, 2 out of 3 from three-point range, and 10 out of 13 from free throws, scoring 32 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals. His 6 turnovers were somewhat high, but considering he needed to handle a large amount of ball possession with Edwards absent, such turnovers are within acceptable range.

In the fourth quarter, Randle shot 3 for 3 and made 5 out of 5 free throws, delivering a perfect performance and dominating all his matchups. When Randle is in form, his size advantage can be amplified infinitely. Those bigger than him aren't as fast; those smaller than him get overpowered directly.

In a late-quarter play, Randle isolated Fleming, turned around to shake off his defender and completed a dunk plus a foul, prompting his son on the sidelines to stand up excitedly celebrating. In memory, Randle's son was still that little kid who would burst into tears after a loss; unexpectedly, he's grown so big now.

The Timberwolves' size advantage is among the strongest in the entire league, giving them absolute superiority over most teams. Their winning logic can sometimes be quite simple, but they can't avoid some rough ball-handling moments. So their current position in the West's second tier is very reasonable.

Fortunately, after a few sluggish performances early in March, Randle has scored 32 points in the last two games, especially against the Thunder where his efficiency of 11 out of 18 was even better than today. Against the Thunder's defensive intensity and Chet's rim protection, Randle's 32 points were quite valuable.

This season Randle averages 21.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, with his scoring average increasing by 2.5 points compared to last season. Early in the season Randle performed remarkably impressively, making people think he might compete for Most Improved Player again. As the season progressed, his performance returned to average, but overall it's better than last season.

More impressively, Randle has maintained a full attendance record this season, missing no games. He didn't leave the frontline despite minor injuries, and even didn't miss games when severely ill recently, which was also one reason for his poor form earlier.

Randle's first career game ended with a season-ending injury, but unexpectedly his attendance rate has been good afterward: in 12 seasons, he played over 64 games in 10 seasons. Completing 82 games this season shouldn't be difficult.

Currently in the West's top six situation, the Thunder and Spurs have basically locked the top two spots, with the Spurs still hoping to chase first place. The remaining Lakers, Rockets, Nuggets, and Timberwolves are essentially four teams tangled together, chasing each other; the rankings likely won't be determined until the final few games.

With Edwards injured, Randle's pressure leading the team alone is understandable, but at the same time he has ample motivation to perform well in every game. After missing All-Star selection, Randle said: "I think I should have been selected. But it's settled, so let it be; I'll use this as motivation for the rest of the season."

Just keep striving; when everything falls into place naturally, the outcome will give you the best answer.