The Minnesota Timberwolves are well-primed to shoot out of the All-Star break like a cannonball. In the last couple of seasons, the team has turned things up a notch as the season started to wind down. Back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Finals illustrate this. The recent acquisition of Ayo Dosunmu should only help this year.
Minnesota isn't flawless, though. They have some glaring flaws that need to be addressed, and there is no better time to diagnose the problems and figure out how to fix them than during the longest in-season break of the regular season. So, what are the Timberwolves' issues, and can the team fix them?
Will the bench scoring improve?
The Timberwolves score 119.7 points per game, which is tied for the third-best mark in the NBA. However, they rank just 22nd in bench scoring. Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, and the rest of the starting crew have had to carry a heavy burden this year.
NBA teams are deeper than ever before, and the importance of having multiple reserves who can go off on any given night has been evident in recent postseasons. Luckily, the Timberwolves have a clear answer with the addition of Dosunmu.
The recent trade acquisition is having a career year, putting the basketball through the bucket. The Illinois product is averaging 15 points per game. Dosumnu has a reliable 3-point shot and can score inside. He slides into the Nickeil Alexander-Walker role nicely and has already proven to be an ideal fit.
Dosunmu is paired with Naz Reid, a former Sixth Man of the Year winner and one of the best bench players in the NBA. Reid is the rare big man who can make outside shots and score off the bench, too. Bones Hyland has been coming into his own as well, meaning bench scoring shouldn't be near the concern going forward.
Who can score in the clutch besides Anthony Edwards?
While bench scoring, in theory, shouldn't be a problem anymore, the Timberwolves still need to prove that players outside Edwards can score in the clutch. In crunch time, Edwards is typically surrounded by his fellow starters. While the former first overall pick is well on his way to winning the Clutch Player of the Year award, he has nearly exclusively been the player tasked with scoring late in games.
When Edwards has an off night or when defenses send doubles at him, others need to step up and be able to score when the game matters most. Despite being a bench player, Dosunmu may actually get crunch time minutes, and he can certainly help with scoring late.
Randle also needs to step up at the end of games. The power forward has great numbers on the season, but he is far from consistent. Notably, he is shooting just 34.6 percent in clutch time games this season. Randle needs to be efficient and reliable late in games. He has the skill set and the bully ball mentality to be a late-game weapon, but he needs to prove it.
Will the Timberwolves start making the easy ones?
Perhaps Minnesota's biggest weakness this year has been free throw shooting. The Timberwolves might not be finding themselves in as many close games if they were shooting better than 74.6 percent from the charity stripe.
That is the second-worst mark in the NBA. Of course, Rudy Gobert's struggles from the free throw line are going to hold the team back. However, players such as Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo need to prioritize making shots from the line. Edwards is way too good to be at just 79.5 percent on his free throws, and DiVincenzo is a sharpshooter, yet he makes just 75.3 percent of his free throws.
Free throw issues can stem from a lack of focus. The shots are of the utmost importance, though, and fixing the issue may be as simple as Minnesota's best players locking in.