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Minnesota Timberwolves: Player grades vs. Celtics, Rockets, and Hornets

By Trey Flynn

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 23: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves has the ball against James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Rockets defeated the Timberwolves 119-100. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 23: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves has the ball against James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Rockets defeated the Timberwolves 119-100. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – DECEMBER 1: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Boston Celtics speaks with the media and celebrates a win with his teammates after the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 1, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – DECEMBER 1: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Boston Celtics speaks with the media and celebrates a win with his teammates after the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 1, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Minnesota Timberwolves’ player grades against the Boston Celtics

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the Boston Celtics 118-109 in a close home game.

The main contributors from the Celtics were Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, and Gordon Hayward. Irving finished the game with 21 points and 9 assists, which helped Smart take some off on offense and becoming a relentless dog on defense with 4 steals. And lastly, Hayward had his first comeback game since his injury with 30 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.

This game was one of the biggest buzz kills for Wolves’ fans who were hoping to keep up a fantastic streak of wins since the Jimmy Butler trade.

As for player grades in losses, let’s start bottom to top:

Jeff Teague: D+

The lowest player grade for the match up against the Boston Celtics has to be awarded to point guard Jeff Teague, who was manhandled by Marcus Smart. The inconsistency of Teague has led him to this terrible grade. And while most fans will groan because Teague is a league great at faciliating the basketball averaging 8.0 assists, I argue that most of his numbers are empty and are inflated.

Teague finished this Celtics game with 11 points (3-10 FG, 1-2 3P, 4-4 FT), 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 turnovers, all in 33 minutes of play.

I would say that we can only see Teague improving from here on out, but the next four games tell us otherwise.

Karl-Anthony Towns: B

The middle-man award could’ve gone to Andrew Wiggins who put up his normal Wiggs’ type numbers against the Celtics, but Karl-Anthony Towns gets this grade with putting out an abnormally average showing.

Much like Teague, the stats of KAT in this game look a bit inflated for what we saw on the court. Al Horford of the Celtics had his way with KAT, and aesthetically it looked like Horford used Towns as a ragdoll.

Albeit, Towns’ had 20 points (6-15 FG, 2-6 3P, 6-6 FT), 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, all in 38 minutes. He’s going to have to put up superstar numbers to win against the likes of the Boston Celtics.

Derrick Rose: A

The head of the wolf pack against the Celtics was objectively sixth man Derrick Rose.

Unlike Teague and Towns, the numbers of Rose are the only reason this game was close at all. Rose finished the game with 26 points (11-18 FG, 2-3 3P, 2-2 FT), 4 assists, and 3 turnovers within only 29 minutes.

Rose has arguably been the second or first best player on this team the whole season, and you can expect his player grades to stay pretty consistent throughout the year.

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