Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 takeaways from Wolves win over Kings

2. Offensive aggressiveness

While the Timberwolves’ 3-point shooting volume still isn’t where it needs to be after 27 attempts in the win over the Kings (more on that here and here), they did an outstanding job getting into the lane and drawing fouls.

The Wolves attempted 30 free throws in the game to Sacramento’s 23. They also knocked down 26 of their attempts, good enough for a percentage of 86.7.

It was a great sign that Andrew Wiggins both tied for the team lead in free throw attempts at eight and that he made all eight of his tries. He was genuinely aggressive when getting to the rim and adjusting his body to absorb contact and get off a shot attempt.

Okogie was aggressive, too, and probably could have drawn a foul or two more than he did. Rose attempted eight free throws in just 24 minutes of play en route to 13 points as he struggled with his jump shot in this one.

The Wolves’ offense is potent when it runs through the Karl-Anthony Towns or Dario Saric in the post with cutters and spot-up shooters around the floor. Early in the game, the Wolves were trying to force the issue with Taj Gibson being guarded by former Wolf Nemanja Bjelica, and while it was successful to an extent, Gibson didn’t pass out of double-teams soon enough.

As the game went on and Minnesota’s defense led to easier offense, it was less of an issue. But it’s something to keep an moving forward, as non-Towns and non-Saric post-ups are generally futile.