What do you really know about Timberwolves F Troy Brown Jr?

He shut down a splash brother

He was particularly adept at shutting down Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson, a feat that enabled the Lakers to defeat the Warriors three times in four meetings last season. In fact, in their final match against the Warriors, Troy Brown Jr. held Golden State Warriors SG Klay Thompson to just 22 points and a +/- rating of (-27).  Brown finished that game with 14 points, eight rebounds, 57.1 percent shooting from the perimeter, and a +/- rating of +10 for the game:

"“He played 41 minutes tonight, but we needed him out there all 41 tonight. The job he did on Klay (Thompson) when he got cross-matched on different guys, he earned his weight in gold tonight…He’s been a pleasure to coach this season.” – Lakers Coach Ham discussing Troy Brown Jr."

The Minnesota Timberwolves know that they will need to do a much better job against the Golden State Warriors this season.  While the Timberwolves split the series 2-2, they know that they will need to be far more competitive this year to win that four-game series. That is where Troy Brown Jr. comes in.

The Timberwolves bench adds a dominating defender

While he may not routinely be a 20 points, 10 rebounds type of player off the bench for the Timberwolves, he can and does impact the outcome of games in his own unique ways. His ability to take out and neutralize one of the NBA’s most prolific perimeter shooters is an area that the Timberwolves struggled at last season.

And he has a sweet ability to box out other players and pull down rebounds at a very efficient rate. That’s another area that the Timberwolves need to improve at this season as well.

Clearly, the Minnesota Timberwolves roster has become even more formidable defensively than a year ago, a direction that this team has taken consistently since hiring Tim Connelly in the role of Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations.