When it was announced that Anthony Edwards could miss two months after needing arthroscopic knee surgery, Minnesota Timberwolves fans' hearts dropped. The team was off to a great start and having fun, but now they’d be without their superstar (who averaged 33.3 points in the first four games) for a sizable chunk of the year.
Thank goodness for Ayo Dosunmu. After looking like an early favorite for Sixth Man of the Year, the 26-year-old has seamlessly moved into the starting lineup while Edwards is out. Minnesota is 5-2 since Ant-Man was forced out of action, and that record wouldn’t be quite as good without Dosunmu taking over in the starting five.
Ayo Dosunmu's consistency has been incredible to begin the season
Sunday’s 115-100 win over the Utah Jazz was your typical strong performance from Dosunmu. It may not have been the all-around game that the Timberwolves have been accustomed to (one assist, five turnovers), but the sixth-year wing scored a team-high 27 points. He shot 7-for-13 from the field, 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 8-for-8 from the foul line. Twelve of his points came in the final quarter, and they were a major reason Utah couldn’t get closer than 10 points behind over the final 12 minutes.
In his seven games since joining the starting lineup, Dosunmu is averaging 21.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.7 steals, on marvelous shooting splits of .533/.472/.957.
The Timberwolves have now played 11 games this season. In each of them—including his four off the bench—nobody can say Dosunmu had a subpar performance where he didn’t bring it. His consistency has been remarkable, and it gives Minnesota confidence that he will go out and perform nightly.
In eight of 11 outings, Dosunmu has shot 50 percent or better from the field and never under 40 percent. Simply put, he's been allergic to games where his shot just isn’t falling. It's never easy for a team to maintain its play after its star player goes down, but having someone as reliable as Dosunmu helps a great deal.
All-Star-level play of late
Look, it would be a major surprise if Dosunmu made the All-Star team. His numbers since becoming a starter certainly merit the conversation. Still, Edwards is expected to return weeks before the All-Stars are announced, so Dosunmu will be back to being a reserve (if the team’s starting lineup is fully healthy).
Regardless, the fact that using All-Star and Dosunmu in the same sentence isn’t laughable shows how great he has been. Dosunmu is just shy of making half of his 3-point attempts, and he keeps the effort up on the defensive end, as the Timberwolves rank near the top in most major defensive categories. His speed puts constant pressure on opposing defenses.
His presence helps keep the team afloat as long as Edwards is sidelined. With Edwards also experiencing knee issues last season, having Dosunmu around should allow the team to feel less pressured to bring back Edwards, maybe sooner than they should.
Is anyone still saying that the five-year, $112 million contract that Dosunmu received in the offseason is an overpay?
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