Minnesota Timberwolves: Predicting the Starting Five

PG – D’Angelo Russell

There should not be much debate about who the starting point guard is going to be. Last season, in limited action, D’Angelo Russell averaged 19 points, six assists, and two rebounds per game on shooting splits of 43/39/77 – with the best eFG-percentage of his career at 52.3-percent.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Predicting the starting five

At his best, Russell is an All-Star caliber guard that brings high-level scoring and playmaking. Towards the beginning of last season, though, there was not many performances that left you optimistic about Russell’s long-term outlook on the Timberwolves. That said, following a return from injury, Russell shined (despite coming off of the bench the majority of times) and looked to affect winning at a very high level.

The pick-and-roll game between Russell and Towns is extraordinary, given Towns’s ability to score from all three levels and play make from inside the paint.

Russell isn’t the best playmaker in the NBA – but he is by far the Timberwolves’ best passer (that is a skill that general manager needs to add more of with the loss of Ricky Rubio). He is going to have to become an even higher-level distributor with the Timberwolves having a tremendous amount of scoring around the starting lineup.

Russell is an interesting fit on a team that craves more consistency – and the level at which he plays is going to be something to monitor this season.

Another quick note: If the Timberwolves pull the trigger on a trade for Ben Simmons – I do think the main piece in the return would be D’Angelo Russell.