Marcus Georges-Hunt can be a serviceable role player
Marcus Georges-Hunt has worked himself into the rotation over the last handful of games. How has he held up?
Up until the last handful of games, Marcus Georges-Hunt became very familiar with the bench. Too familiar. However, recently he’s begun to earn Tom Thibodeau’s trust and has been seeing the floor on a (limited) regular basis.
Beginning with the game against the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 14, he’s played at least five minutes in every game except the Christmas special against the Los Angeles Lakers. He typically plays a few minutes at the beginning of the second and fourth quarters, providing a semi-noticeable boost off the bench.
A typical offensive possession for the second-year player looks like this:
For most of the possession, he’s camped out in the corner, trying to draw his man out of the paint as much as possible. While this is a decent strategy, defenses don’t have to respect his shot (due to his 25 percent three-point percentage) and can sink toward the hoop without worrying about giving up a three. This further clogs the driving lanes for the other Wolves’ players and makes it more difficult to score.
Thibodeau would be best off to use Georges-Hunt in an active, yet off-ball, role. This means he would be constantly cutting, setting screens and keeping his man engaged in order to disallow the defense from getting comfortable in their positioning. By constantly standing around on offense, his defender is getting much-needed rest and is doing very little work on each possession.
Simple cuts, like the opportunity this play presents, would open up the offense for everyone:
Even though it ends favorably for Minnesota, the possession could’ve been made much easier with a simple cut to the lane, as there is a good four seconds where the Sacramento Kings don’t have any eyes on Georges-Hunt, and the lane is wide open. Even if he would’ve cut and the weakside defender stepped up to help, it would’ve left Andrew Wiggins even more open to splash the three in the corner.
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Overall, Georges-Hunt is not on the floor to provide any type of offensive output for the Timberwolves and any points they get out of him is a complete bonus. However, that doesn’t mean they should avoid him like the plague and stick him in the corner. If they continue to ignore him while in the game, opposing teams are going to do the same and that will cause issues for this second-unit that already lacks spacing. It’s imperative to get him more involved, even if that means simply touching the ball while swinging it around on the perimeter.
If he’s a ghost on offense, he’s a ghoul on defense.
His intense on-ball defense and active hands can cause issues for offenses. His height at 6-foot-5 also means he can guard multiple positions and give Minnesota more flexibility at the end of the court. And let’s make no mistake about it, this is why he has a roster spot in the NBA.
Watch how low he sits in his stance before the ball even gets to his man, allowing him to be in a great defensive position on the rotation:
As the ball is swung to Alex Len at the top of the key, Georges-Hunt hops into his defensive stance with his man being only one pass away. As Len tosses the ball to Georges-Hunt’s man, he’s already in a ready position to defend and slide over the top of the dribble-handoff. This is crucial, as there’s little-wasted movement or time. All it takes is one mishandle and Georges-Hunt knocks the ball loose and picks it up before getting fouled.
You better bet your ass Thibodeau gave a huge smile after this play. It also gives a sneak peek of what Georges-Hunt is capable of in the long run, as this type of defensive pressure is exactly what Thibs ordered.
Don’t get me wrong, he still has a long way to go to become an above-average defender in this league, but you have to start somewhere. Against weaker offensive players he can thrive in this situation, but he still struggles mightily against the better scorers. And this is exactly what happened against the Portland Trail Blazers.
With Georges-Hunt matched up on C.J. McCollum, the youngster found out the hard way just how good the Trail Blazers guard is. With the two matched up to begin the second quarter on Dec. 18, McCollum was responsible for ten consecutive Portland points, including this beautiful floater:
Georges-Hunt goes under a ball-screen by Ed Davis and when he’s finally able to fight through it, McCollum hits him with the tiniest of hesitation moves. This caused Georges-Hunt to spin around like a ballerina as McCollum drove down the lane and laid up a floater over Gorgui Dieng for two points. Nasty.
Georges-Hunt shouldn’t feel bad about his inability to guard McCollum, as much-better defenders have experienced equal struggles. What he should feel good about is the minutes he’s begun earning under Thibodeau. It’s not easy to work your way into any rotation once you’ve racked up a bunch of DNP-CD’s.
Next: 5 Timberwolves' players who have shown growth this season
Nobody’s expecting Georges-Hunt to become a big-time scorer or defensive stopper in the NBA. However, if the dominoes fall correctly, he could become an above-average wing defender and an average three-point shooter. And that’s exactly what the doctor ordered for the 2017-18 Minnesota Timberwolves.