The Timberwolves’ front court conundrum
A lot of fuss has been made about the Timberwolves rotations so far this season.
The main concern from fans regarding the rotation orchestrated by Sam Mitchell seems to be Zach LaVine playing the point guard spot, as he is a natural shooting guard. However, there seems to be a larger issue at play in the Timberwolves rotation so far this season.
The way Mitchell has handled the front court might ultimately be a bigger story. This Timberwolves team has a bevvy of talent in the front court, from Karl-Anthony Towns, Nemanja Bjelica, and Gorgui Dieng to Adreian Payne and at times Shabazz Muhammad.
This is both a blessing and curse for Mitchell. On the one hand, he has five great front court guys, but on the other it’s a problem when it comes to giving them adequate minutes. Mitchell seems to be giving all these guys relatively equal playing time, when that should not necessarily be the case.
For example, Karl-Anthony Towns, who is arguably the best Wolves player, is playing just 29 minutes a game. I can maybe understand the idea of saving his body for the future, but beyond that, how does that make any sense?
Even going with the excuse of saving his body is a little bogus to me. This guy just turned 20, and you’re going to save his body now? He’s not Tim Duncan! He barely has any NBA miles on him! I don’t see the sense in playing your best player only 29 minutes.
Nemanja Bjelica is playing nearly 27 minutes a game — almost on par with Towns in terms of playing time. So essentially, the first guy off the bench is playing almost the same amount of minutes as the best player. Not saying this as a knock on Bjelica, because he’s a good player; I’m just saying at some point something’s got to give.
At some point Sam Mitchell has to play Karl-Anthony Towns more. Besides Andrew Wiggins, nobody makes a bigger impact on both ends, and he’s only playing 29 minutes a game?
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When LeBron James was 19 and 20 years old he played 39 minutes a game! Even Jahlil Okafor is playing 34 minutes a game, and he plays on a team that gets blown out almost every night.
In regards to Gorgui Dieng, it seems likely that he’s a starter caliber center. You’re going to tell me a potential playoff team like an Indiana or a Boston wouldn’t start Dieng? They would in a heartbeat!
Now, I am in no way advocating that the Wolves should trade Dieng (they shouldn’t). It does prove a point, however, that perhaps Dieng deserves more than 18 minutes a game.
In order to give both Towns and Dieng more minutes, what would be the harm in possibly moving Towns to the power forward spot? He has the ability to play there even as a seven-footer, like an Anthony Davis does at tiems. This leaves Gorgui Dieng at center, and I cannot even imagine how destructive those two would be together on the defensive end.
If Dieng were to start, that would give the second unit a bit more flexibility. They would be small, with Bjelica, Payne, and Muhammad, but I don’t know if that would be such a bad thing.
We know that Bjelica can stretch the floor, as can Payne. The interesting thing about Payne is that he can also go down low and rebound and defend, meaning that a small-ball second unit would be intriguing.
Alas, this all won’t happen any time soon. What’s holding this all up is Sam Mitchell’s insistence on starting Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince.
As much as I hate to say it, Kevin Garnett should not be starting. Quite frankly, he shouldn’t even be playing the 15 minutes that he is currently. Sure, he’s a Timberwolves legend, but he’s doing more harm than good when he’s on the floor, and when he’s off the floor he’s doing more good than harm.
Next: What Does Sam Mitchell's Toronto Tenure Tell Us?
I love Kevin Garnett as much as the next person, but I think Sam Mitchell is leaving a lot of untapped potential on the table by starting him. Sam Mitchell should seriously consider getting these young, talented front court players more minutes. They are the future of the team, after all.