Rui Hachimura went scorched-earth on Julius Randle after Wolves newcomer struggled in debut

NBA players aren't usually this honest. After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103 on the league's opening night, Lakers forward Rui Hachimura was brutally honest about how LA found so much success against a Minnesota defense that was perhaps the league's best last season — by attacking the new guy, Julius Randle.

Saying that a player "is just standing and stuff" is perhaps the funniest way to describe an opponent, but Rui kind of has a point here. He was in attack mode all night, scoring 18 points on 7 for 14 shooting from the floor, a lot of that coming against Randle, who looked lost in his Timberwolves debut, spending more time standing and stuff than contributing for the Wolves.

Some fans have already turned on Julius Randle after one rough game, which is obviously very silly. His integration into the Wolves offense will take some time to pay off, and it might take some Chris Finch lineup experimentation to really find groups that work well. Still, being called out by an opponent for a lack of effort in your first game with a new team isn't a dream start.

Julius Randle struggles in first game with Minnesota Timberwolves

On the night, Julius Randle shot 5 for 10 and ended with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. The statline is solid but Randle didn't mesh with the Wolves offense in game one, looking a bit clunky next to Anthony Edwards, who dominated the ball for a lot of the night. Randle certainly isn't solely to blame for Minnesota's flat offensive performance.

There's reason to believe this will smooth out during the season as Randle gets more comfortable with a new offensive system, but the standing around part, the lack of effort and the nonchalance that Randle played with in game one is something only he can fix, and Timberwolves fans certainly hope that fix comes, like, tomorrow.