The Great, Good, Bad and Ugly for the Timberwolves (so far)

Keita Bates-Diop

While KDB has only played in six games so far this season, he is primed to have a sizable role playing PF in the future. With Jake Layman out for the foreseeable future, Bates-Diop will likely take most of his minutes.

At 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, Keita is the perfect size for a modern stretch-4 and has the skills to thrive in this offense.

In his last two games, KBD has averaged 17.5 points on 14/26 shooting (54 percent) and 4.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 36 percent from deep on 14 attempts. While that production may not be sustainable, it is a deeply encouraging sign from the second-year swingman from Ohio State.

As much as I love him, Robert Covington needs to play his natural position, the 3, with a versatile big alongside him at the 4. Bates-Diop fits that description very well. He is nothing special on defense, but has a 7-foot-4 wingspan that can clog passing lanes, deflect passes, and contest shots inside and out on the perimeter.

His willingness to shoot the 3 and overall assertiveness has been fun to watch as well. To give you an idea of how capable he is, in two games as the offensive centerpiece for the Iowa Wolves, KBD averaged 22.5 points on 53.6 percent shooting, 4.5 rebounds, and shot 8/13 from deep.

Hopefully we will see more minutes thrown his way in the coming weeks, because he deserves them and can raise the ceiling of this Wolves team with his shooting, scoring, and versatility.

Jake Layman

The former Portland Trail Blazer has been fun to watch in his first season in Minnesota.

In 14 games, Jake Layman is averaging 10.5 points on 46.2 percent shooting, 2.9 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game, while shooting 35.2 percent from 3 on 3.9 attempts per game, thriving in the role he’s been asked to play.

Layman has been consistently solid on defense and shown the ability to overcome dry spells, keep his head, and still impact the game in a variety of ways – a sign of a good veteran. He excels at cutting to the rim and finishing, as well as getting out in transition and finishing on the break, and has proved he can lean on those skills to remain effective for Ryan Saunders.

As FSN North play-by-play voice Dave Benz has pointed out on multiple broadcasts, Jake has served as a barometer for the Wolves’ success. When he scores in double figures, Minnesota is 6-1. When he scores nine points or less, the team is 2-5.

Confident Jake Layman is a valuable asset for Minnesota, so it is imperative that the team continue getting him the ball in his spots and calling plays to get him an open look off timeouts in order to maximize his impact when he returns.

Josh Okogie

Most people might put JO in the “Bad” bin, but he makes the “Good” category because of how tangible his energy and impact has been for the Wolves thus far.

On defense, Okogie is an absolute pitbull. He is allowing his opponents to shoot just 45.3 percent from the field when he is the primary defender and has been a force on defense down low, as well.

Josh’s shot looks much improved from last season, even his 23.5 percent shooting from deep does not reflect that. He is connecting on 43.6 percent of his shots from the floor, which is up from 38.6 percent last year.

The Wolves are 6.6 points better per 100 possessions with Okogie on the floor compared to when he’s off the floor, and it feels like that when he leaves the floor. Time and time again, he makes his presence felt within the first possession or two after entering the game, and has consistently been an energizer bunny that turns the tides of games for the Wolves this season.

Robert Covington

Robert Covington is the heart and soul of this Wolves team and loves playing for his teammates.

In this clip, RoCo took a shot to the groin, stayed down, but got back up when he realized Gobert leaking out on the break and then takes a charge. How can you not love this guy?

Covington is averaging 12.4 points on 45.0 percent shooting (career-high), to go along with 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 blocks. I’d love for him to be more assertive on offense (especially driving to the rim), because good things tend to happen when he’s got the ball in his hands on offense.

On defense, Covington proves night-in and night-out why he’s one of the best wing defenders in the Association. His hands, talk, defensive IQ, activity off the ball, and 7-foot-2 wingspan create problems for opposing defenses and make up for a great deal of defensive mistakes made by KAT and Wiggins.

Gorgui Dieng

Dieng has been a key factor for the Wolves since entering the rotation in mid-November. His ability to make the right reads with the ball in his hands, take space from defenders on dribble hand-offs, and knock down open jumpers has been big for Minnesota early on.

Like Okogie, it seems that whenever G comes in the game, his presence is immediately felt thanks to a great hustle play, pass, or dunk on a pick-and-roll. The Senegal native has shown again this season that he is very smart, takes care of the basketball, and provide some much-needed help on the boards.

Where Dieng has impressed me the most this season has been on the defensive end. He is registering a career-best defensive rating of 99, which is an elite number that places him seventh in the league among backup big men. As the season goes along, anything sub-100 is an outstanding place to be for any player. Like KAT, he has been a beneficiary of David Vanterpool‘s deployment of the “drop defense” for his centers in the pick and roll.

While Gorgui has only logged 12.5 minutes per game, his numbers have been great during his time on the floor. Adjusted for 36 minutes, he is averaging 15.3 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.3 blocks, and 2.0 steals, which would be a fantastic line for a starting center.

Ryan Saunders needs to give Gorgui all the backup 5 minutes and keep Noah Vonleh on the bench until an injury forces his hand.