Player grades from Minnesota Timberwolves loss against Nuggets
The Minnesota Timberwolves dropped their fifth straight game on Tuesday night, losing the Denver Nuggets for the second time in three days.
86. 123. 73. Final. 116
The Minnesota Timberwolves had one of the most-strange games of this NBA season thus far, coming back to lead at halftime after trailing by nearly 20 points shortly after the 2nd quarter had begun.
That said, none of that would ultimately matter, though, as they just could not contend with the talent that the Nuggets had on the floor in the fourth quarter. Still, there were more bright spots Tuesday than in any of the previous four games.
Let’s get into the grades.
This was not a good Naz Reid game. He only played ten minutes, was not sufficient on either end of the court, and seemingly committed a foul whenever the opportunity presented itself. Reid finished with two points, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero blocks, two turnovers, and five fouls. Yikes. Not good!. Center. Minnesota Timberwolves. NAZ REID. F
RICKY RUBIO. F. <br />Ricky Rubio didn’t have a much better game than Naz Reid, unfortunately. Usually, he is a solid veteran presence on both ends of the floor but was the opposite of that Tuesday night. He didn’t score a single point, committed five fouls, and was a team-worst -18. Rubio just was not sufficient down the stretch for the Timberwolves and looked downright unplayable in the fourth quarter.. Point Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves
C+. Beasley struggled to get into a rhythm early, but he finished with a team-high 38 minutes played, scoring 15 points on 15 shots (meh). He was more-so impactful as a complementary, high-effort player in the second half, saving his grade here.. Shooting Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves. MALIK BEASLEY
Minnesota Timberwolves. JUAN HERNANGOMEZ. A. Juan Hernangomez was serviceable against the Nuggets? No! He was really good! (This is not something anyone saw coming after his first six games). Anyways, he finished with the third most minutes, shooting 10-14 FG and 5-8 from three. He also racked eight boards, two assists, two steals, and one block. Hernangomez was great for the Timberwolves last night, and should probably start at power forward for the foreseeable future.. Power Forward
B+. Last night we got the D’Angelo Russell that the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for – a stark contrast from the inefficient ball-smothering guard that we have seen in Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence. He was efficient both shooting and facilitating, and not totally horrible on defense. Russell finished with 33 points on 10-21 shooting, 11 assists, two steals, and four turnovers. This needs to be consistent if the Timberwolves want any shot at making the playoffs once Towns returns.. Point Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves. D'ANGELO RUSSELL
A+++++. We finally saw Jarred Vanderbilt last night! And he was everything we had hoped he would be. Vanderbilt was a team-high +9, scoring 11 points on five shots, with five rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks. He played excellent defense while he was in the game, and kept the ball moving on offense. He almost-single-handedly kept the Wolves in the game after being inserted in the second-quarter.. Power Forward. Minnesota Timberwolves. JARRED VANDERBILT
C-. Anthony Edwards was just okay in Tuesday night’s loss against the Denver Nuggets. He wasn’t efficient, but per usual, there were flashes shown which he could be special. Edwards finished 6-19 from the field, making 1-7 threes, only one assist and three turnovers. He needs to take less pull-up threes and drive to the rim more. Still, he has perhaps the highest ceiling of anyone on the Karl-less Minnesota Timberwolves and getting him easy looks and moving more off-ball should be of the essence for Ryan Saunders.. Shooting Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves. ANTHONY EDWARDS
The Timberwolves go up against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, January 7th.