Jaylen Nowell: The spark plug the Minnesota Timberwolves need
By Brennan Sims
Juiced bench player
Nowell has a little more juice with the ball in his hands than any Timberwolves bench player from a season ago. When teams close out hard because he’s a more than capable shooter, he has no problem putting the ball on the floor and making the right basketball play. We’ve seen flashes of beautiful off-hand skip passes attacking closeouts.
When needed, Nowell is a competent finisher. Boasting a 63 percent shooting at the rim, secondary defenders have to pick their poison on what to give up. He is very comfortable using either hand to finish. You can catch him using the rim as an extra defender as he glides to the rack for a reverse left-hand layup. His hang dribble followed by a right-to-left cross is a deadly combination.
His hang dribble keeps defenders honest; when they try to anticipate his movements, he can hard cross or keep the rock in his right hand and blow by defenders. Euro steps, left-handed scoop layups, spin moves into off-hand lays, Nowell has an entire array of finishes in his arsenal. His bag includes ridiculous midrange shot-making ability. That ability is a great relief option when plays break down.
The midrange is not dead. We see its value in the postseason time and time again. What do you do when teams stop initial play actions and the shot clock is running down? Those possessions aren’t ideal but it’s all in the game. It happens. Every team needs a player that can create something out of nothing. Nowell makes tough bailout jumpers in his sleep.
With his nearly elite acceleration and deceleration, he can stop and start on a dime before pulling up for his patented midrange. Jaylen Nowell shot at a 47 percent clip on all of his midrange shots. That puts him at an elite level in the NBA (84th percentile). Analytics say the midrange is a bad shot when bad mid-range shooters take them. Or when players are taking those longs two’s with a foot near or close to the three-point line. With short midranges (5 ft-13 ft) taking up 29 percent of his shot diet, his in-between game will be vital for the Timberwolves’ success next year.