The Minnesota Timberwolves have been getting a lot of attention of late, and not in a very good way. The team has been a bit lacking in some areas that a team stacked with NBA All-Stars in the front court should be excelling at. The Timberwolves have struggled mightily with scoring from the perimeter.
These same Timberwolves have struggled mightily at defending the perimeter. And perhaps most surprising of all, a team with Rudy Gobert as this team’s starting center, is struggling with rebounds and clearing the boards.
While we can talk about recasting the dice with this roster, swapping out players who are not carrying their roles and responsibilities to the fullest, ideally the Timberwolves would be best served by finding ways to make their current players flourish, grow into and form the types of bonds among one another so that when sent onto the basketball court together.
Looking for leaders on the Timberwolves Roster
The Timberwolves roster is extremely difficult to GPS right now. I believe that there is a consensus that this team is a bit dysfunctional right now. But from that starting point, there is almost no agreement among options to bring about a solution. There is always a component, perhaps fueled by frustration or anger, that wants to dispose of anyone on the roster who they believe to be the problem. That’s not a real solution, as it offers no ‘what comes next to fix this?’ step that is the key part of improving the team’s fortunes.
Perhaps the more effective, wisest, and most difficult is to sit back and wait. That requires a strong faith that the outcome will eventually deliver to expectations. But this is a team whose roster has been refurbished, the players are still defining how each fits into the rotation and lineup.
Ultimately the goal is to get the supporting cast to a point where the team knows what will happen and the players know their roles and are confident in delivering.
Say, is that what just happened?
Wounded Wolves are the most dangerous
Wounded Timberwolves are at their most dangerous. With the normal choice of fight or flight limited to fight, the survival instincts of a wild predator are surprisingly powerful. Perhaps there is a message there for the Minnesota Timberwolves? The Minnesota Timberwolves (13-15) entered the game to face their last contest on the road and entered the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (11-17) without:
PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns
C Rudy Gobert
PG D’Angelo Russell
PG Jordan McLaughlin
PF Taurean Prince
Just stepping back and looking at the names and production from that group, they are a starting five players who could put up very strong competition in the NBA if they were the core of a new NBA team. But sitting on the bench pulls their nearly 70 points per game and 30 rebounds on ice. The Timberwolves have to find some way of making up that level of production.
Timberwolves Roster is wounded, but not done just yet
The team had just been drubbed at the hands of the LA Clippers (17-13) by a score of 99-88 and learned that Gobert was injured in the game and would join his four teammates on the bench in Oklahoma City. There was a bit of surrender entering this game, at the nadir of a three-game losing streak. But this is a team that was not done just yet.
Much like a true pack of Timberwolves, this team was running out of options. But as options seemed to run out, a couple of Timberwolves players rose to the occasion. Backup center Naz Reid had a huge game (we’ll talk about that later), and shooting guard Jaylen Nowell poured in 13 points off the bench. But the most shocking and pleasantly surprising performance on the night? Well, I have to give the nod to the backup-backup point guard, veteran Austin Rivers
Timberwolves treys? Take me to the Austin Rivers
There was a 1974 song “Take Me To The River” performed by the legendary Al Green and guitarist “Teenie” Hodges. Green has since been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, and his song has gone on to be covered by some of music’s most diverse and talented performing artists. In 1978, the Talking Heads released their version of the song, and it became one of the best hits in their musical careers.
The path of veteran guard Austin Rivers has not been a comfortable one so far. To date, his best performance was a November 7th performance against the New York Knicks, when he scored nine points, two rebounds, one assist, and one block on 18 minutes of play. He scored once out of four attempts from the perimeter.
It was his lackluster showing so far that made him an obvious option as a player who could be moved before the NBA Trade Deadline. But with almost no production, trade partners would be just as likely to view Rivers as a salary dump as much of a player who could help their roster.
Until now, that is.
Austin Rivers is overflowing
Against the Thunder, Rivers more than doubled his offensive production. But that is not where the heart of my praise for the veteran will focus. So far this season, Austin Rivers had only made seven of 31 three-point shots. But against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the guy unloaded with four of five shooting from the perimeter.
In a game in which the margin of victory was just two points, and at a time when the Minnesota Timberwolves needed someone on the team to step up, Austin Rivers did so without hesitation. He led the Timberwolves to a salvo with their long-range artillery, with the Timberwolves scoring 12 of 25 three-point shots (40 percent shooting). But what about perimeter defense?
The Thunder’s artillery not only fell silent in this one with 29.7 percent shooting from the perimeter but the Oklahoma City Thunder were limited to just 11 of 37 three-pointers.
Is this just a one-off? Or is this an indication that Austin Rivers is settling into his new role with the Timberwolves? I’ll go with the latter for now.