Lakers’ Julius Randle beginning to find his ‘niche’ in the NBA

With 1:11 remaining in a one-point game and five seconds left on the shot clock, Los Angeles Lakers second-year forward Julius Randle caught a pass from Jordan Clarkson on the left wing and sized up his defender, Minnesota Timberwolves rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Randle finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, his 19th double-double of the season and sixth since moving into the starting lineup against the Houston Rockets on Jan.

Count Lakers coach Byron Scott among those impressed with Randle’s improvement this season.

Randle collected the Lakers’ only three rebounds over the final 4:37, each coming in an impressive manner.

It seemed as if he kicked his energy level into another gear late against the Timberwolves, but Scott says Randle’s effort was relentless throughout the game — a trend since Randle re-entered the starting lineup almost three weeks ago.

It’d be a stretch to suggest the Lakers’ odds of winning simply hinges on Randle’s effort, but he rebounds the ball considerably better in wins (11.4 per game compared to 9.3 in losses) and takes up a larger portion of the team’s overall boards (45.1 percent in wins compared to 38.5 percent in losses).

Randle is still raw on the offensive end, with most of his baskets coming via the creation of his teammates off offensive rebounds or through brute strength and effort around the rim.

If Randle can continue to prove that he’s a threat to score out of the post or on pop-outs, and not just off offensive rebounds or dives to the rim, the Lakers’ offense, which ranks just 29th in offensive efficiency, can add a much-needed wrinkle to its limited arsenal.