3 things the Minnesota Timberwolves need to do when the NBA returns

#1 – Give Jordan McLaughlin more minutes alongside D-Angelo Russell

After watching Jordan McLaughlin ball out in Summer League last July, I had high hopes for his prospects as Tyus Jones’s replacement as the backup point guard.

But, I will admit, I was not high on J-Mac during his time with the NBA club during Jeff Teague‘s battle with the plague (or whatever illness that kept him out for four games in November).

But man, I could not be happier that I was wrong. Heading into the Heat game, here is how the 2019-20 season comparison between Tyus and Jordan broke down:

Since the trade deadline, J-Mac has averaged a highly impressive 10 points, 5.1 assists to just 1.3 turnovers, and 1.7 stocks (steals plus blocks) in 21.8 minutes per game while shooting 55.2 percent from the floor on seven attempts and 41.5 percent from downtown on 2.7 treys attempted per game.

What has been most eye-opening to me about McLaughlin’s recent performance has been the dynamism of the duo he has formed with D-Lo. When the two share the court, the Wolves offense is at its best.

Per Cleaning the Glass’s on/off splits, lineups that feature McLaughlin and Russell have been incredible.

Offense

• Have a +32.6 point differential per 100 possessions
  • 100th percentile league-wide
• Score 138.6 points per 100 possessions
  • 100th percentile
• Have an effective field goal percentage (eFG%) of 60.3 percent
  • 100th percentile
• Have a turnover percentage of just 11.9 percent
  • 97th percentile
• Draw free throws on 32.6 percent of possessions
  • 100th percentile

Defense

• Allow 106.1 points per possession
  • 86th percentile
• Give up an eFG% of 53.3
  • 45th percentile
• Force turnovers on 16.2 percent of possessions
  • 86th percentile
• Allow offensive rebounds on 17.4 percent of possessions
  • 100th percentile
• Send opponents to the stripe on 33.3 percent of possessions
  • 0 percentile (yikes)

Granted, the two players have only played 75 possessions together, these are pretty ridiculous numbers that show a pretty significant upgrade from the team’s numbers in those same categories.

As a whole, the Wolves average just 108.6 points per possession this year (22nd percentile), an eFG of 51.8 percent (25th percentile), and are also in the bottom quartile of the league in opponent points per possession and opponent eFG%.

What makes the McLaughlin the perfect point guard to pair with Russell out on the floor is his ability to turn the corner around bigs playing ice, bracket, or hedging defense on a high ball screen.

D-Lo has off-ball skills that complement a downhill lead guard. He takes advantage of defenders who help on driving guards and wings by hunting open space in order to get good looks from deep.

At 5-foot-11, McLaughlin is extremely shifty and has a great first step that allows him to blow past the first line of defense after he makes a read in a ball screen action.

Here, James Johnson approaches J-Mac to receive a pass in a give-and-go, dribble hand-off (DHO) screen action. Once McLaughlin passes to JJ, it is his job to read the defense and decide where Johnson will set the screen.

On the hand-off from JJ, J-Mac sets his foot in the ground and darts around the screen, which draws in the dropping big and help from the wing. Russell sees this and fills to the open space, which gets him an uncontested look from 3.

Most guards that spend a ton of time handling the ball, like Russell does, struggle to impact the game and put pressure on the defense when the ball is not in their hands.

Thankfully, D-Lo is not your average lead guard. He can spot up from anywhere on the floor and always stays shot-ready whether he’s standing still, filling open space, or running off a screen.

In this play, Wolves fans are used to watching guys like Andrew Wiggins or Keita Bates-Diop cut to the middle of the lane and mess up floor spacing. Russell, however, has no problem staying put and knocking down an open three.

Unlike Jeff Teague, McLaughlin recognizes how small he is relative to the bigs he sees in a collapsed defense. He has the presence of mind to scan the floor before he jumps, so he does not get caught in the air, and makes the smart read to Juancho in the corner, who then finds D-Lo for a right wing trey.

Yes, it is important to note the small sample size we have of these two sharing the floor together, but the results are staggering and it is definitely something worth exploring further, especially once KAT gets back and can function as the screener for McLaughlin in high ball screen actions.