Minnesota Timberwolves: Examining key issues with the Wolves’ offense

The Minnesota Timberwolves haven’t been effective on either end of the floor this season. Turns out, that’s how you end up with a 6-17 start to the year.

In a strange twist, however, the offense has been consistently worse than the defense. Many of the struggles can be attributed to only having Karl-Anthony Towns on the floor for four of the first 23 contests; clearly, having the league’s most talented and versatile offensive big man would make a massive difference.

But even without Towns, it’s fair to expect a team with D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards to be in a better spot than No. 29 in offensive rating as we close in on the one-third mark of the schedule.

So, what are the biggest problems with the Wolves’ offensive attack thus far?

Minnesota Timberwolves: Examining key issues with the Wolves’ offense

No. 1: Where have all the free throw attempts gone for the Wolves?

Just last season, the Timberwolves attempted 25.4 free throws per game, good enough for third in the NBA. This year, that number has plummeted to just 20 per game, which is No. 28 in the league.

To make matters worse, the Wolves are No. 25 in free throw shooting percentage and are making 4.1 fewer free throws per game so far this season compared to the 2019-20 campaign.

Shaving off more than four points per game is not insignificant. Add to it that the Wolves are playing at a slower pass than last year as well, using fewer possessions and therefore limiting their opportunities to score.

From an individual free throw rate perspective, not having Towns available greatly impacts the Wolves’ floor for free throw attempts; Towns has a free throw rate of .348 over the past four years of his career and has averaged 5.6 free throw attempts per game over that span.

Last year, the Wolves were led in free throw rate (defined as the number of free throw attempts per field goal attempts) by several players who only played partial seasons with Minnesota: Jeff Teague (.444 in 34 games), Towns (.363 in 35 games), Juancho Hernangomez (.336 in 14 games), Noah Vonleh (.326 in 29 games), Jaylen Nowell (.321 in 15 games), Keita Bates-Diop (.316 in 37 games), and Shabazz Napier (.311 in 36 games).

So far this year, only four Wolves are over the 0.3 mark: Jarred Vanderbilt (.446), Towns (.397 in just four games), Ricky Rubio (.336), and Josh Okogie (.309). Consider that Vanderbilt only attempts 4.4 field goals per game, Towns has only played in four contests, and both Rubio and Okogie have been horrible shooting the ball from the field and it doesn’t paint a great picture of the Wolves’ offensive efficiency.

The other piece of this is how scheme has impacted the Wolves’ offensive output to this point.

Obviously, without Towns, the Wolves have nearly completely abandoned post-ups. Naz Reid is averaging just 1.2 post-ups per game so far this season, although he did get 12 post-up opportunities against the Thunder. While Reid saw success for much of Saturday’s game against an Al Horford-less Thunder squad, he scored only 10 points across those 12 post touches and passed out of the post only once.

Anthony Edwards is an option to receive post touches when guarded by much smaller defenders. He has only two post-ups on the season and they came in the same game against San Antonio.

Of course, the lack of post touches isn’t the only reason the Wolves aren’t getting to the free throw line, but it is a piece of the offense that is missing sans Towns.

No. 2: The Wolves’ inability to convert at the rim

If it feels like the Wolves have blown an inordinate number of layups this year, well, they have.

Minnesota is No. 27 in the league in shooting percentage within 10 feet of the rim, making only 53.7 percent of their close-range attempts. That’s a problem when 47 percent of your shot attempts as a team are coming from within 10 feet.

Part of this is as simple as bad luck; the Wolves have had plenty of that this season. Part of it is a lack of foul calls — Edwards, in particular, has seen the officials swallow their whistles far too often.

But the rest of it is simply bad misses. There plenty of culprits; half of the Wolves roster is shooting below 60 percent with three feet of the rim.

No. 3: 3-point shooting accuracy from Wolves’ role players

Last year, the Wolves were No. 3 in 3-point attempts per game but No. 28 in percentage as a team.

This year, the long-range attempts have been trimmed back significantly, but the accuracy hasn’t improved in a meaningful way. The Wolves are only No. 17 in 3-point tries per game, but they remain No. 28 in percentage.

This is another area in which Towns has a massive impact; Towns has shot 41 percent on 3-point attempts over the last three years. But D’Angelo Russell is shooting 39 percent from deep, a mark that would be a career-best if it holds up over the course of the entire season. Malik Beasley, the team leader in attempts per game, is making a solid 37.7 percent of his tries.

The issue comes from the inaccuracy of the role players. Juancho Hernangomez, Jarrett Culver, Josh Okoogie, and Ricky Rubio are all tracking at career-worst marks from 3-point range. They’ve combined to shoot 31-for-135 — an unsightly 23 percent.

What’s the quickest fix to all of this? Well, number one, it’s getting Towns back. But that goes without saying.

They also need to do a better job getting out in transition and getting easy baskets, both at the rim and outside the arc. The Wolves are No. 24 in transition opportunities and No. 20 in points per possession on those chances. That’s an issue for a team that’s trying to play fast.

These are all items to keep an eye on as the Wolves look ahead to getting Towns back on the floor. Any measurable improvement in these three areas, plus the re-introduction of Towns, should help the Wolves elevate their offensive considerably.