PG D’Angelo Russell is holding the Minnesota Timberwolves back
Russell struggled on both ends of the court
Russell (-20 net rating, two of eight shooting, four assists, four turnovers) was not the only Minnesota Timberwolves starter to struggle, either. Small forward Jaden McDaniels also spent much of the game in foul trouble, finishing with barely 17 minutes of playing time and was not particularly productive in those minutes. Back up power forward Kyle Anderson, who had been out with back soreness recently, barely registered in the box score, finishing with just 3 points and a single rebound. Gobert attempted only one shot from the field and failed to reach double-digit rebounds for just the third time this season.
No matter who was on the floor, the Phoenix Suns starters had no trouble finding shooters open and killed the Wolves from deep, which has been a theme this season. The Wolves have surrendered 40.1 three-point attempts, the second-most in the league. The Suns took 43 and made 17, or 39.5 percent, with forward Cameron Johnson leading the way with seven of 11 three-pointers and 29 total points.
The Timberwolves’ best stretches throughout the game came with most of their starting five on the sidelines. While all five starters finished with net ratings of -12 or worse, Timberwolve backup point guard Jordan McLaughlin and backup power forward Taurean Prince were each +6. Topping them was backup center Naz Reid at +10, and backup shooting guard Jaylen Nowell topped everyone on the Timberwolves roster with +14.
When the four of them, paired with one of Towns or Gobert, were on the floor, there was far better flow to the offense and far better spacing, and against a Phoenix second unit unaccustomed to playing without at least one starter, they repeatedly clawed the Wolves back into the game.
I honestly believe that if Russell had not been in foul trouble, the Suns would have had the game well in hand by halftime. His shortcomings in this game were the same as they’ve been in the other seven games so far this season
He seems to predetermine whether he’s going to shoot or not before possessions begin, which often results in bad shots. He seems to struggle in reading the opposing defense, leading to inaccurate passes. And that inability to establish himself as a scoring threat minimizes pulling defenders from his teammates, which is not a great way to facilitate an effective offense. He turns the ball over too often. Finally, he plays below-average defense, gambling frequently and ineffectively. These issues are not new this season, either.