The Minnesota Timberwolves need to find their flow

The Minnesota Timberwolves fell to 4-3 following Sunday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs. It appears that the San Antonio Spurs may have the Minnesota Timberwolves number in this young season.  So far, this is the second loss to the Spurs through seven games played. The Timberwolves have had a pretty favorable schedule (at least that’s what the odds say). As a result, many fans were hoping for better than a 4-3 record to jumpstart the season.

There are a few factors plaguing Minnesota’s success. According to Cleaning The Glass, the Timberwolves are shooting 33.6 percent from downtown, bad enough to be ranked 26th in a 30-team league. The three-point snipers haven’t shot the ball the way they usually do.

Minnesota Timberwolves PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns is shooting just 34 percent on 5.9 three-point attempts. He’s a career 39.6 percent shooter from beyond the perimeter. Shooting guard Anthony Edwards is struggling from deep right now as well, hitting on just 34.5 percent of his three-point shots. Wingman Bryn Forbes is shooting an abysmal 12.5 percent from the perimeter.

Forbes may be a little more troubling to the Timberwolves coaching staff and executives, seeing that long-distance shooting is one of the primary reasons that he was signed to the roster by Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly. Shooting 4-29 from deep as they did against the Spurs on Sunday is terrible shooting luck, but the overall streaky shooting has been a theme through seven games.

The Timberwolves’ flow is off

When good looks aren’t being generated, it’s easy to see why the three-point percentage is suffering. Getting the defense in scramble mode with ball movement usually leads to good looks. The Timberwolves starting five haven’t been in sync consistently enough yet to accomplish those movements. There’s a ton of pick and rolls being run and not enough moving. But even the pick and rolls have been a bit… inconsistent so far.

Minnesota Timberwolves point guard D’Angelo Russell is not playing like a true pass-first point guard at the moment. He is hunting his shot out of the pick and roll, but that may be out of necessity with the way teams are playing him. Opposing defenses are staying on Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert when he comes to screen for Russell, leading to Russell’s pull-up jumpers (he’s shooting 35 percent on those attempts) or the other option is a forced lob to Gobert. The timing has been off on the Alley-Oops so far, as those Timberwolves forced lob passes are leading to turnovers or missed shots.

Ant-Man must look out for more than number one now

Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards’s score-first mentality is why he was drafted number one. You cannot argue with that. He says he wants to be an MVP candidate one day. If that’s true, his dump-off game needs to improve (How many MVPs did not create plays for other teammates on the roster?).

Edwards is such a force coming downhill. He’s a master at keeping defenders on his hip in the pick-and-roll. When that’s happening, more dump-offs or lob passes to the big are ideal. If you shoot every time in that spot, you become predictable. Teams know you won’t throw it to the big so now you’re facing even more defensive attention. Edwards’ playmaking for others is improving, which is still another aspect of his complete game that is still considered a work in process.

The spacing between Minnesota Timberwolves’ small forward Jaden McDaniels and center Rudy Gobert has been shaky at best. Gobert comes up to set a ball screen and rolls to the rim only to find Jaden Mcdaniels sitting in the dunkers’ spot. McDaniels should really be in the corner in those situations. He’s not an elite shooter by any means but he’s shown that he can attack closeouts and get the ball to the correct target.

These are all things that time and experience can work out.

Good defense or bad offenses?

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has openly stated that these Timberwolves are not playing physical-gritty-enough defense on the perimeter. The blow-bys are forcing him to go zone or to a switch-everything defense. Both of those schemes have their trade-offs. You’re more likely to give up three-point attempts in a zone. Slipping screens can easily crush switches.

They have to do a better job of keeping their man in front of them. McDaniels and Edwards have to set the tone that former Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverly and forward Jarred Vanderbilt set. We know the limitations that power forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns has on that island, but making the offense feel you with physicality is what Finch wants to see.

Even with the lack of physicality, Minnesota still holds claim to the 6th best defense in the league. Teams still aren’t making a ton of shots at the rim against a Rudy Gobert-anchored defense. Is that the product of a soft schedule? Offensively, their opponents haven’t been the strongest. The San Antonio Spurs boast the only top-fifteen offenses that the Minnesota Timberwolves have faced so far this season.

The schedule heats up in November, as the Timberwolves travel to take on the explosive Phoenix Suns, a team that is averaging 118.7 points per game, good enough to be the third highest-scoring offense in the NBA right now.

If the Timberwolves have been “playing down to their competition” that must change this month. They match up with eight teams that made the playoffs/play-in tournament a season ago.

The next few weeks will be telling where the Timberwolves currently stand. Things we should keep a close eye on are their offensive flow plus their overall long-range shooting, Rudy Gobert and D’Angelo Russell’s pick-and-roll synergy, Edward’s passing/decision-making, and the defense physicality on the perimeter. These are the keys that could take the Minnesota Timberwolves to the next level.