Bench
If you look at the stat sheet alone, the Timberwolves bench might seem like a very bad unit. Of course, this is where watching the squad comes into play.
When Tom Thibodeau combines bench players like Jamal Crawford and Gorgui Dieng with some of the team’s starters, the results have been good. Crawford is often brought in when the team is on a scoring drought and does a solid job of mixing scoring and playmaking.
A player for Minnesota that is still underrated is Nemanja Bjelica. Through the first seven games of the season, Bjelica was shotting 57.9 percent from 3-point range — incredibly important for a team who doesn’t have lots of players who can space the floor.
For Portland, however, there is just not the same amount of power off of the pine.
Meyers Leonard (5.5 points and 3 rebounds per game), Shabazz Napier (3 points and 1 assist per), and Evan Turner (10.1 points and 3.3 assists per) are decent to solid players, but they just don’t move the meter enough to make a ton of difference for a solid team in a very good division.