Minnesota Timberwolves: Winners and losers of preseason win over Warriors

Anthony Tolliver means business

The Timberwolves added Anthony Tolliver to fill the Nemanja Bjelica role off the bench this season. And if one preseason game is any indication, sure looks like he’s going to do far more than Bjelly when it comes to launching from beyond the arc.

Tolliver played 31 minutes, which is likely more than he’ll play on average during the season, but he managed to hoist 10 3-point attempts during that time. He started the game making four of his first five before cooling off a bit, bringing his total on the night to 5-of-10.

Fans will recall that Bjelica at times looked far too hesitant to pull the trigger from deep; Tolliver is not Bjelica. The Wolves’ newcomer shot the ball quickly in transition, off of screens, and in spot-up situations alike.

Tolliver warned us on media day that he was here to shoot threes, and he wasn’t lying.

While he shot a career-high 43.6 percent on 3-point attempts last year in Detroit, he is still a career 37.6 percent shooter from long-range and hit on 39.1 the year before last. In other words, while it would be unrealistic to expect him to hit at 43 percent or more again this year, it’s fair to not expect a massive drop-off.

Clearly, Tolliver identified that shooting threes at an insane clip was the skill that would keep him in the league the longest, and has worked on his craft to the point that he’s one of the best bench shooters in the game.

Also notable is that Tolliver played some small forward alongside Gorgui Dieng and Keita Bates-Diop. This is an indication that he may see the floor plenty during the regular season, depending on match-ups, and is something to keep an eye on.