What Nowell and McDaniels have done with increased offensive roles for the Timberwolves
By Aidan Berg
One of the greatest weaknesses of the 2021-22 Minnesota Timberwolves is the roster’s scarcity of players who can make something happen with the ball in their hands.
With the Timberwolves woefully short-handed of late, what have a pair of previously little-used players done with their increased playing time?
Minnesota Timberwolves: What have Nowell, McDaniels done with increased offensive roles?
The Wolves’ lack of depth at the playmaking role in the offense has held them back on many occasions this season, and the recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases on the team has only served to accentuate this issue.
Anthony Edwards has missed the team’s last four games, Karl-Anthony Towns missed the previous game against the Utah Jazz, and now D’Angelo Russell will be out for a while after joining the ever-growing list of Timberwolves in health and safety protocols.
Even though the team’s stars have joined the list in cascading order, some of the Wolves’ non-stars have been asked to step up — and will continue to be called upon with four of the five preferred starters among the eight players in protocols.
Two of those role players who have had to take on a larger offensive responsibility are Jaylen Nowell and Jaden McDaniels, and there is evidence that indicates both will be better served maintaining a bigger offensive load even when Minnesota’s stars are back in the fold. While Nowell struggled to get on the court for the team’s first 25 games and McDaniels labored with offensive inefficiency in his minutes, they’re both gaining momentum while being asked to do more.
Over the last seven games, both Nowell and McDaniels are above their season averages in both effective field goal and true shooting percentages while playing more minutes and taking more shots. As the team’s depth has continued to shrink, these two have continued to expand their games, with both scoring at least double-figures in three of the last four contests.
But how exactly are these two capitalizing on their opportunity? And what does it mean for their place in the hierarchy when the Wolves are (hopefully) fully healthy?