Timberwolves D’Angelo Russell saves his best for last

The Minnesota Timberwolves found themselves tied with the Indiana Pacers after the end of three periods of regulation play by a score of 90-90. The Timberwolves were reeling, having lost a 23-point lead in the first half of the game, and fighting back from an eight-point deficit in that crucial third period to know it all up.

But that was history. As far as the players who stepped onto the basketball court for that fourth and final quarter, the score was 0-0.

The Timberwolves had gotten plenty from young star SG Anthony Edwards, who ended the fourth period with 22 points, six assists, and seven steals. The Timberwolves had already gotten a double-double out of star center Rudy Gobert, who was dominating in the paint. But the Pacers had kept the lid on point guard D’Angelo Russell, one of the three remaining scoring and on-court leaders of the team.

To that point in the game, D’Angelo Russell had not stood out. He had just 13 points, scored just once from the perimeter, and really was not getting the ball distributed at a pace anywhere close to where the Timberwolves needed him to be passing the basketball.

But that was about to change.

D’Lo dictates the game’s outcome

Saving the best for last?  A fourth-quarter salvo from PG D’Angelo Russell, who scored 15 of his 28 points and three of his four three-point shots, was the offensive boost the Timberwolves desperately needed. He got hot, scoring his 15 points in just 6:56 minutes of play. When the Timberwolves needed leadership on the basketball court, D’Lo answered the bell.

There have been questions about the fit of this team’s roster, and the lack of leadership on the team. But this continues to be a team still feeling out about their roles and teammates.  This is not an instant out-of-the-box team. Rather this is a group that will continue to play their best basketball as the season advances. PG D’Angelo Russell, the single player with a lot of responsibility for the team’s performance, is a perfect example.

D’Angelo Russell is improving rapidly as the season progresses. The calls to trade D’Lo, as well as the critique that this team has no leadership, as far too premature to be viewed as anything more than emotional outbursts at this point. Russell proved why he should be viewed as an integral part of this team’s future. The biggest challenge to him, and to many of the Timberwolves’ current players, is playing more consistently.