3 major takeaways from Timberwolves’ three-game winning streak

Takeaway No. 3 from Timberwolves’ winning streak: Big Three producing

One of the biggest laments regarding the Wolves’ largely anemic offense over the first dozen games of the season was the lack of balance, and specifically regarding getting Towns involved.

Towns is, after all, the Wolves’ most efficient offensive player. Anthony Edwards is exciting, but he got off to a slow start this season and was using far too many inefficient possessions. Same with Russell, who still hasn’t pulled his 3-point percentage up to where it usually sits.

While it’s admittedly a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg situation, the Wolves’ default Big Three have performed admirably over the three-game winning streak.

In the three games against the Kings, Spurs, and Grizzlies, Towns has averaged 22.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game. He’s shot a sizzling 60.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.

For his part, Edwards has averaged 20.7 points on 53.3 percent shooting and 50 percent from beyond the arc.

Russell’s ascension has been the most notable. After shooting just 38.4 percent from the field over his first 11 games this season, Russell has made 42.9 percent of his shot attempts over the last three.

Perhaps most notably has been his increase in free throw attempts. Russell is known to have an aversion to getting to the charity stripe and continued with that trend early this season, averaging just 2.4 freebie attempts per game. Over the last three contests, however, Russell has attempted 6.7 free throws per game and has made 80 percent of them.

Ultimately, the Wolves will go as their Big Three goes. That’s exactly why the offense was struggling for the first few weeks of the season, by the way: the ancillary players were all defending well enough to win, but the trio of Towns, Russell, and Edwards weren’t scoring consistently or efficiently enough.

Here’s hoping that the Wolves can continue their rapid ascension up the league ranks when it comes to offensive efficiency, ultimately leading to more wins and an above-.500 record.