The Minnesota Timberwolves may have repurposed forward Kyle Anderson to a BG role. Oh, you don’t recognize that one? It’s a big guard, and with the recent burst of success, it could be the key to getting this Timberwolves roster optimized for a difficult five-game road stretch. It’s already helped kick off the Timberwolves’ travels with a 1-0 start by winning against the Utah Jazz, in Utah.
Who wants the ball? On an NBA team, five hands often go skyward when that question is asked. But if you ask who wants to distribute the basketball to his teammates, well, that has been another matter altogether. The Minnesota Timberwolves have plenty of shot-makers and a bit of a shortage of field generals.
We know that the moniker of point guard goes to D’Angelo Russell. But Russell’s recent hot streak has come at a cost. In order to optimize his game, he has had to all but ignore feeding the basketball to his teammates and simply take the shot. His fourth-quarter heroics in two consecutive games cannot be disputed, but that leaves a void in the lineup for the right guy who can handle the ball and feed the open shooter.
No PG? How about the Minnesota Roster trial F Kyle Anderson at BG?
That void may be seeing improvement though. Forward Kyle Anderson has a knack for getting the basketball to the hot-handed shooter, as his surprising 12 assists would give evidence to support.
Having Kyle Anderson emerging as a very good playmaker during this stretch is huge as well. Some of the pressure is off of Russell to quarterback the team. He can still sling it, but now he's being more aggressive.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) December 10, 2022
The Minnesota Timberwolves are still learning important bits of information about themselves. The role of point guard was a failed experiment for the Timberwolves early on in the season. Now that the shackles of calling the shots on the court are not as burdensome to Russell, he has responded with some of his best basketball since joining the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Finch and DLo said early season emphasis on distribution messed w/ his flow
— Jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) December 10, 2022
"Theres a lot of opportunity out there for me to just be me instead of overthink it and try to point guard the team. Thats never really been my thing. I kind of just play basketball freely and have fun"
So it’s down to Kyle Anderson to be that facilitator. Will it work? It’s been a promising development for the Timberwolves roster so far this season. What happens when the team has a healthy Karl-Anthony Towns ready to return to the lineup? Well, that’s a bridge to cross for another day.
This looks promising . . .
Right now, the Timberwolves may have stumbled onto something that is effective and a great way to optimize the players on the basketball court.
Just to add to this: 5 of Anderson’s assists on the night also went to Rudy Gobert. If he is going to play the big guard role (he should) then being able to set up DLo as an off-ball shooter *and* Rudy as a lob/high-low threat is an awesome mix. https://t.co/rAaYT3HCMA
— Howls And Growls (@HowlsAndGrowls_) December 10, 2022
The Timberwolves roster is by no means set in stone. Giving the ball-handling role to Kyle Anderson makes too much sense, and has unlocked the offensive firepower of both Rudy Gobert and D’Angelo Russell in the process.